Responsibility
by SatInTheCornerWriting
Summary: Isabella Swan is forced to move into her fathers home in Forks, Washington after the unexpected death of her mother and step-father. However, she is not alone, joined by her seven month old infant half-brother. What happens when Bella meets the mysterious Edward Cullen, and what will he think when he notices her caring for the infant? I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS
1. Prologue

"Bella? Bells, sweetheart-" Charlie's voice cut out as he reached his daughter. His daughter Bella sat in the waiting room of Banner University Medical Center. She looked up at the sound of her name being called, the skin of her face blotchy and her eyes swollen red and dripping tears.

Bella jumped up, being careful not to jostle the infant seat sitting at her feet lest her seven month old half-brother wake up. "Dad" Bella answered.

Charlie pulled Bella into a hug so tight that her feet were lifted off of the floor slightly. After letting go Charlie led Bella back to her seat, taking the one next to her for himself and holding her left hand in both of his. Charlie briefly regarded the infant in the seat, the son of his ex-wife and her current husband.

"How is it looking?" Charlie asked his daughter. She had been sitting in the same spot for practically fourteen hours straight. Bella looked into her father's eyes briefly before she had to look away, instead staring out the window at the opposite end of the hallway. Bella shook her head, struggling to get the words out. "Not good dad, not good at all-" Bella started sobbing at this point.

Unsure of how to comfort his daughter in such a situation, Charlie let go of her hand and wrapped her in his arms. Startled by the new noise and then influenced by his sisters emotions the young baby started to cry as well. Bella quickly attempted to compose herself, wiping the tears from her face with her thumbs. Bending at the middle Bella leaned down and unstrapped the infant from his seat before sitting up with the baby in her arms. She rocked and bounced the child gently, trying her best to calm the little one quickly.

Charlie regarded the two with unsure eyes. It had been so long since he had been around a baby, and the fact that this was his ex-wife's baby made him even more uncertain.

Bella looked at Charlie, the smallest of smiles shown briefly on her face. "Dad, this is Ryan". Bella gently held the baby's arm and made him wave at her father.

Charlie offered one of his fingers for the baby to hold on to. "Hello Ryan, I'm Charlie," he told the infant more for the sake of his daughter than anything.

While this interaction was taking place a doctor walked into the waiting room. "Isabella? Isabella Swan?" the man called into the room. Bella looked up from the infant in her lap and looked at the man, calling him over to her and her father. The doctor made his way over, standing in front of the pair. "I'm doctor Anderson, Bella. I've come to let you know that your mother is out of surgery"

Bella's eyes lit up and she jumped up, so fast that she startled the infant in her arms. She calmed him as she asked; "Can I see her?"

Her face fell when the doctor told her that that was not an option at the moment. "I'm very sorry Isabella, but that is not possible right now. Your mother may be out of surgery but she is still in critical condition in the ICU"

Bella sat back down, asking; "She's going to be alright though, right?" as she did so.

The doctor was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word his answer to the seventeen-year-old girl. "It's not looking very good right now Isabella. Again, I'm very sorry". The doctor pat her on the shoulder before giving her one last sad smile and walking away. Bella began to sob again, Charlie enveloping both Bella and Ryan into his embrace.

It was roughly three hours later when doctor Anderson made his way back over to the pair. Bella was asleep, curled up in her chair. Charlie looked at the doctor, his heart sinking just from the look on the mans face. He gently shook his daughter awake and motioned to the doctor standing before them.

"I'm very sorry Isabella, but your mother did not make it". If Charlie thought that Bella had been sobbing the first two times he had no idea what to call the crying that she was doing now.


	2. Chapter 1

Bella walked into her new home, her father directly behind her carrying the infant seat that contained her half-brother in the crook of his arm. It had been over three weeks ago now that her mother Renee and step-father Phil had passed away.

Bella looked at her father thankfully when he set the infant's car seat down in the small living room. It was no surprise at all to Bella that her father insisted on her moving in with him, however she had gotten slightly nervous when she had taken Ryan into consideration. Thankfully, out of the kindness of his heart, Charlie had been willing to sign temporary custody papers for Ryan and welcome the baby boy into his home as well.

"Well Bells, I guess I'll get your old crib down from the attic and put it together. You can use it for Ryan." Charlie ruffled the back of his hair with his hand, watching his daughter carefully before he made his way up the stairs.

Although Charlie had signed temporary custody papers, in place until Bella was a legal adult, Bella knew she would be the one taking care of the infant. A large part of Bella was thankful for Ryan, if it had not been for her new responsibility to take care of him she did not know what the pain of losing her mother would have done to her. Even with the baby to take care of she had completely lost herself that first week, hiding in her bed unable to stop the tears, only able to force herself up to care for the infants needs.

Bella was not only thankful for Ryan, but also for Charlie. She had never needed her father more than she did right now, and Bella would be forever grateful that her father helped her through the funeral arrangements and the move every step of the way.

She set the duffle bag that was over her shoulder down onto the couch. Bella could unpack later, she had a week to sort out the fine details before she'd be expected at Forks high. Sighing, Bella checked on the infant in his seat, deciding to leave him as he was fast asleep. She made her way to the kitchen, figuring one small way she could repay her father would be to handle the cooking.

Bella looked through the fridge and cabinets, not finding much to work with. She'd have to make a point to make it to the grocery store soon. She'd walk to the grocery store if she had to; Forks is small enough, she thought to herself. Managing to find a box of pasta and a jar of red sauce in the cabinet, Bella set a pot of water onto the stove to boil.

Ryan started to fuss just as the water was starting to boil. Bella dumped the box of pasta into the pot before making her way back to the living room to care for the baby. She made him a bottle and began to feed him while she paced back to the kitchen to keep an eye on on the boiling water. When the water happened to begin to boil over Bella was too wary to have the baby near the stove to deal with it herself, instead she called up the stairs to her father.

Charlie rushed down the stairs with more speed than Bella would have thought possible. "Where's the fire?" he questioned her as he entered the kitchen.

"No fire, just boiling water dad." Bella gave Charlie a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Charlie lowered the temperature of the burner before turning to leave the room. Bella grabbed his arm lightly, "wait dad, could you stir it please? The noodles will stick together". Charlie returned to the stove, grabbing a wooden spoon to stir the noodles. "Thanks dad," Bella added quietly, "they should be done soon."

The noodles were strained by Charlie when they were finished cooking. After he returned the noodles from the strainer to the pot he added the sauce and stirred it around. Charlie filled two plates and set them on the table. The pair ate in silence, Bella using only one hand as the other was supporting Ryan.

Bella looked up at her father briefly, "thanks dad. For everything." She looked down at her plate, a singular tear running down her cheek. Bella quickly wiped the tear away with. "I really don't know what I would do without you." At this point the tears really came, prompting Charlie to get up from his chair and make his way around the table to comfort his daughter.

Charlie kissed the top of Bella's head, "I'll always be here for you Bells." Silent tears fell from his eyes as well as he held his daughter tightly.

Once Bella had calmed down and was able to control her tears, she realized that she had completely lost her appetite. When he was sure Bella was okay he sat back in his chair and finished his own plate of food. Bella placed the infant on the floor and began to clean the dishes.

"Bella I can do that, don't worry about it," Charlie attempted to persuade her.

She shook her head, not looking away from the sink. "I've got it dad, it's the least I can do." Once Charlie was finished with his pasta he placed his empty plate into the soapy water for Bella.

"I'm going to head back upstairs and finish up with the crib." Charlie pointed over his shoulder with his thumb as he spoke. Receiving a small nod of understanding from Bella, Charlie turned around and did as he said he would, the stairs creaking as he did so. Ryan made to go after Charlie however the infant could not yet crawl confidently. When Bella was finished with the dishes she noticed that Ryan had managed to wiggle his way to the doorway, although the infant could not crawl he was certainly not imobile either.

Bella picked the baby up and made her way up the stairs to check on her father. As she entered her childhood bedroom her father was laying the mattress into the crib.

Bella's room was almost exactly how she had remembered it. Her queen sized bed lay against the southern wall of the room, a nightstand beside it which held a small lamp. There was not much on the western wall of Bella's room save for a window, while the rocking chair from her childhood sat in the corner. Bella was grateful for the rocking chair now, as it may come in handy for Ryan. The northern wall of her room had an outcropping; the section of wall that was set in to the room housed a desk, topped with an ancient computer. While the section of wall that created a small alcove contained another window, underneath the window sat Ryan's crib.

Charlie turned from his work while Bella was analyzing her space. He nodded at her, "cribs all set." Charlie shook the crib for good measure, it did not move. "Nice and sturdy, good wood." Bella nodded to her father before sitting on the edge of her bed, Ryan in her lap. Charlie sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I think I have some sheets for your bed in the closet, and you can use a spare quilt for now. We'll have to go to Port Angeles tomorrow and get you both some bedding. The baby might have to sleep in your bed tonight, I don't think I saved any of the crib sheets." Charlie looked at his daughter apologetically.

Bella bit her lip and nodded to her father, "that's fine, thanks dad." Bella looked at the room and sighed. "I think we're going to get settled for bed, I'm honestly exhausted." Bella got up from the bed and stood looking between her father and her open door.

"Sure, I'll bring your stuff up from the living room." Charlie got up as well and made his way around his daughter and out her door.

Bella brought Ryan into the bathroom and started to run a bath for him. Bella was knelt on the floor, washing the infant when Charlie stept into the room.

"Got your stuff," Charlie told her, pausing before continuing; "It feels like just yesterday when it was you in the bath and you mo-." Charlie cut himself off before he could finish that statement, hoping he had not upset his daughter again by almost mentioning his ex-wife. "Oh Bells," Charlie moaned quietly when he notice his daughter wiping her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay dad, I get it." Bella gave her father her best attempt at a smile. At that point, seeing as Ryan was completely clean Bella drained the bath water and wrapped the infant in a towel. "I'm going to put him down," Bella told her father as she made her way back into her bedroom.

"Okay Bells, I'll be downstairs if you need me." With that Charlie headed back down the stairs, still feeling bad about their most recent interaction.

After Bella had dressed the infant for bed she turned off her overhead light, leaving only the small lamp next to her bed on. Bella sat in her rocking chair with Ryan, reading him stories as they rocked. When Bella was sure the infant would stay asleep she laid him in the center of her bed, which Charlie had been nice enough to put sheets on for her. Bella surrounded the open edges of her bed with pillows, should Ryan happen to roll, before grabbing her bag of toiletries and heading to the bathroom to get herself ready for bed.

Bella stood under the hot water of the shower for as long as she dared with the sleeping baby unsupervised on her bed, letting the temperature and pressure of the water relax her muscles. After her shower Bella went back to her bedroom, checking on the Ryan briefly before heading back downstairs.

Standing awkwardly in the entrance to the living room, Bella thought about what she wanted to say to her father. Bella shuffled over to her father, where he was lounging on the sofa watching a game, sitting down on the floor next to it.

Bella knelt and hugged her father. "Thank you dad," she told him again.

Charlie was caught off guard by the hug at first but quickly reciprocated it. "It's nothing Bells, I'd be a horrible father if I wasn't taking care of my girl."

Bella got off the floor, saying good night to her father before she climbed the stairs and entered her room. She stared at the sleeping infant for a few minutes before fixing the pillows and climbing into the bed next to him, he just looked so peaceful. Whispering; "You'll never lose me Ryan," Bella pulled the infant to her chest and held him protectively while he slept.

As tired as Bella was she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep. She was not looking forward to tomorrow. Bella hated shopping, and she had no doubt that shopping with Charlie was going to be even worse. They were both too similar. It was necessary though, seeing as it hadn't been possible to take most of their possessions from her mother's and Phil's house in Phoenix they had only taken what was most important.


	3. Chapter 2

As Charlie pulled his police cruiser - his only form of transportation - up to the curb in front of their house Bella noticed that the driveway was not empty, as it should have been. On the pavement sat a Honda civic from the late 1980's or early 90's. Bella turned to her father with a confused look, Charlie only smiled back up her.

"Do you like your coming home present?" Charlie asked his daughter as he shut off the car. "I know it's kind of old, but it runs good and it will get you and Ryan where you need to go."

Bella was lost for words, gasping for a moment before managing to squeak out; "You bought me a car?" her words exasperated. Bella rushed out of the cruiser and hurried over to her new car to give it a closer examination. She was somewhat embarrassed to find that there were people sitting in the car, she didn't know why she had assumed it was empty.

As Bella was getting over her blush the drivers side door opened and a kid that appeared to be even younger than Bella stepped out. The passenger door opened as well, although the person did not exit the car.

Charlie walked up behind Bella just as the driver opened his mouth to speak, handing the infant car seat containing Ryan to Bella so that he could clasp the teen on the shoulder. "Now Jake, I'm going to pretend that I didn't just see you get out of the driver's seat."

The young man, Bella now new was named Jacob, looked down at his feet in embarrassment. "You know chief, we rez kids get our permits early," he joked.

"Sure," Charlie went along with the misinformation. Turning to Bella he asked; "So you like the car? Just bought it off Billy here." Charlie slapped the roof of the car. "You remember him right? From La Push?" Bella nodded to her father, a very vague memory of Billy Black popping into her head.

"Speaking of Billy," Charlie mumbled before making his way around the car. Jacob retrieved a wheelchair from the trunk of the civic and with Charlies help maneuvered his father into the chair. Pushing the chair around the car and into Bella's view Charlie clapped Billy on the should. "You staying for the game old man?" Charlie asked his friend.

Billy motioned to the beer in his lap; "I even brought the refreshments," he joked.

Charlie began to wheel Billy up the front path and into the house, calling; "have Jake help you bring your stuff from the store in" over his shoulder.

"Well, you heard the man," Bella aimed her poor attempt at a joke at Jacob. As the two walked back down the driveway to the cruiser Jacob spoke up; "Well I'm Jacob, we used to make mud pies together when we were little. Although you probably remember my sisters better." Bella nodded, faint memories of Rachel and Rebecca filling her mind.

Jacob managed to bring the entire trunk load up to her room in two trips, with very minimal help from Bella. He sat on the edge of her bed while she wandered around her room, attempting to put her new things away while also balancing Ryan on her hip.

"Can I help you with anything?" Jacob piped up. Bella gave him a grateful smile. "No, I think I got it. Thank you though." The pair could hear their fathers cheering for the game that way playing on the television downstairs.

Bella ended up soliciting the help of Jacob, asking him to hold Ryan so that she could put the new bedding she had purchased for both of them in Port Angeles in the wash. Jacob agreed quickly, although Bella could see that he was a little bit nervous holding the infant. After starting the washer Jacob and Bella made their way into the living room to watch the rest of the game with their fathers.

Towards the end of the game Bella got up to switch her load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, leaving Ryan to play on the floor in the living room. Making her way into the kitchen afterward she called to the men, who were still watching the game; "anybody hungry?" She looked into the fridge, seeing the sparse options. Now that she had a car, she could definitely get some groceries tomorrow. "I could make some grilled cheese," Bella added after retrieving the cheese and shutting the fridge.

Bella received a yes from all three of the men and set to work on their dinner. Jacob ambled into the kitchen eventually, leaning against the counter and watching Bella prepare dinner. The pair shared a laugh as their fathers argued playfully in the other room.

After the game was over Charlie drove Billy and Jacob home to the reservation, as the car they came in would be staying. While Charlie was gone Bella took the laundry upstairs making both her bed and Ryan's crib, he would be able to sleep on his own tonight. By the time Charlie got home Bella had already gotten herself and the infant ready to sleep and was reading to herself in her bed, Ryan asleep in his crib. Charlie stopped in to check on her before heading to bed himself.

Bella smiled to her father when she noticed him in the doorway. "Thanks for the car dad. It's awesome." Bella got off the bed to hug her father. Charlie placed a kiss on the top of her head before releasing her from the hug. "No problem kiddo, I figured it would make things easier for you." Bella smiled gratefully at him.

"Well, I'm headed to bed, it's back to work for me tomorrow," Charlie rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

"Night dad," Bella yawned as she climbed back into her bed, picking her book back up.

"Night Bells," Charlie replied before crossing the hall to his own room. That night Bella fell asleep while reading her book, as she had done many times before, her copy of Wuthering Heights was so well loved that it was nearly falling apart.

Bella was woken up by Ryan at roughly two o'clock in the morning. This was the third time the infant had woken up that night. After lifting her brother from his crib Bella sat in her rocking chair with him after making him a bottle to drink. She hoped the motion would put the little one back to sleep after he was finished with the bottle. Bella leaned her head back and closed her eyes; Ryan was not the only one having trouble sleeping, her sleep had been plagued with nightmares all evening. After Ryan was finished with his bottle and had fallen back asleep Bella decided to bring him into her bed with herself, hoping that it would help the both of them sleep better for the remainder of the night.

Bella woke up with a start, tears streaming down her face. A glance at the clock told her that it was now four-thirty in the morning. Ryan laying next to her, sleeping peacefully; it hadn't been the infant that had woken her up this time. Instead she had had a dream of the memory of the night her mother passed away.

 _Bella had encouraged her mother and step-father to go out on a date, promising that she would watch Ryan for them. It had been so long since the pair had gone on a date and they deserved to spend some time alone together as that was hard to find with a young baby. Bella had just sat down in the living room to read a new book she had gotten herself recently. She had already put Ryan to bed and did not expect her mother and Phil to be home for several more hours. Bella was only ten pages into the book when the phone hanging on the wall began to ring. She thought it was strange for the phone to be ringing so late in the day and contemplated leaving it to ring. Just the idea of ignoring the phone gave her a horrible feeling in her stomach however. Upon answering the phone she heard an unfamiliar voice in her ears._

" _Isabella Swan?" the voice asked her._

" _Yes, this is Isabella," Bella answered back. "Who is this?"_

" _Bella this is deputy Lauraine Webster calling from the police department. I'm very sorry to inform you that there has been an accident, I need you to get to the hospital as soon as possible."_

 _Bella did not wait to see if the woman had any more to say. She moved as fast as she dared as she gently lifted her half-brother from his crib and transferred him to his car seat, not wanting to wake him from his sleep. Bella clung to her sanity with the tips of her fingernails, and it took everything in her to be mindful of the infant in the back seat of the car and not speed on the way to the hospital. She all but ran into the building after she had found a parking spot, Ryan in the car seat hanging from her arm._

 _Bella asked the receptionist in the emergency room for her mother frantically. "My mother, Renee Dwyer, and her husband Phil Dwyer were brought in recently. I just got a call saying there was an emergency. I need to see them. Please, please I need to see them," Bella begged the lady at the desk, nearly in hysterics._

 _The receptionists face paled and she called for a nurse. A nurse came around to Bella, wrapping one of her arms around Bella's shoulders and leading her to a chair in the waiting room. Ryan was now crying in his seat, being startled awake by all the commotion. The nurse nealt in front of Bella, holding both of the young girls hands in one of her own, while rocking the infant seat with her other hand._

" _Now Isabella, I need you to try to calm down sweetheart," the nurse looked at Bella with pleading eyes. "It's very important that you try to calm down." Bella tried to calm her breathing, attempting to do as the nurse told her._

" _What's going on? Where is my mom?" Bella tried to ask the nurse. "I just want my mom." Several tears fell down Bella's face and onto her lap._

" _Your mom is in very critical condition Bella. There was a car accident." A sob escaped Bella's mouth and interrupted the nurses words. "A drunk driver ran a red light and drove directly into the side of your step-father's car Bella. It pains me to say this, but Phil died on impact. Your mother is being prepped for emergency surgery as we speak Bella, we are going to do everything in our power to save her." Bella had no words, all she could do was hang her head and cry. She had no idea how long the nice nurse sat with her for but she was extremely thankful._

There was no way Bella would be able to go back to sleep. Instead, she climbed out of her bed, wiped the tears from her face, and quietly began to unpack. It was closer to six-thirty in the morning when her door creaked open.

"Hey Bells," Charlie greeted his daughter. "I'm headed to work. You sure you'll be okay here today?"

"I'll be fine dad, don't worry. I'm going to go to the grocery store, and I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home." Bella gave her father as genuine of a smile as she could to reassure him. This would be the first day away from her father in nearly a month, Bella wasn't sure how to feel.

"Okay Bells, I'll leave the number for the station on the fridge so you can call if you need me." Charlie proceeded to leave the room, closing the door quietly behind himself. Bella heard as he made his way down the stairs, and then heard the front door close a few moments later.

It couldn't have been more than forty-five minutes later when Ryan started to stir. Hearing him begin to fuss a little bit Bella made her way over to her bed to care for the infant. After changing his diaper and dressing him for the day Bella brought the infant down to the kitchen. Bella attempted to feed Ryan a jar of baby food before making herself some cereal, however she found that the infant seemingly had something against sweet potatoes and wanted nothing to do with the puree on his spoon. Instead, Bella made herself a bowl of cereal and fed her step-brother a bottle while she ate it.

After the pair were both finished with their respective breakfasts Bella brought the infant back up to their room so that she could get dressed herself.

"We're going to the grocery store today, Ryan. So that sissy can make some yummy for her dad," Bella cooed at the infant. Ryan babbled nonsense back to Bella as a response. Bella smiled at the baby, who she had placed in his crib so that she could dress herself. "We'll get you some more baby food, no sweet potatoes this time. How does that sound Ryan?" The infant smiled brightly back at her and gave a small belly laugh. Although Bella would be fine with silence, she knew that it was good for the baby to be talked to.

Bella loaded the infant into his car seat and slung the diaper bag over her shoulder before leaving her room. She walked down the steps slowly and carefully, with her luck she would be set off balance by the added weight of Ryan and come tumbling down the stairs. Bella most certainly did not want to fall down the stairs while holding the infant, it was one of her biggest fears. She took the money out of the jar labeled "FOOD MONEY" that lived in the cabinet over Charlie's sink, she counted the money before shoving it into the front pocket of the diaper bag. Grabbing the keys to her car she made her way out the door, making sure to lock it behind her. This would be the maiden voyage in her new car.

One of the few items aside from clothes that Bella had brought with her to Forks was the baby carrier her mother had used to carry Ryan on her chest. Bella had watched her mother use it hundreds of times, claiming it was the only way she was able to do housework with an infant. She herself had even tried it out a few times, with her mothers assistance of course. This would be the first time Bella would attempt to use it on her own, and she was struggling. Bella was sure she had been standing in the parking lot of the grocery store for nearly half an hour trying to get the carrier right; she was about to give up and just sit the baby in the shopping cart when she finally managed to make it sit right on her body.

Bella was glad that she had taken over the responsibility of grocery shopping for her mother years ago as it helped her be able to stick to her budget now. She was nearly done with her shopping trip, getting the last few items she needed from the dairy isle. Paying more attention to Ryan than anything else Bella was jostled out of her thoughts when she accidentally pushed her cart into another person's cart. Bella looked up, an embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, I wasn't paying attention at all. Are you alright?" Bella rushed out, maneuvering her cart away from the woman's. Bella couldn't help but notice that this caramel haired woman was extremely beautiful, almost too beautiful to be found in a small town like Forks.

"It's fine dear, don't fret," the woman gave Bella a warm smile, offering her hand out to Bella. "I'm Esme Cullen, it's nice to meet you."

Bella returned the woman's hand shake. "I'm Bella, Bella Swan. It's nice to meet you too." The womans hands felt like ice compared to Bella's. Trying to rationalize the chill Bella figured the woman had just gotten something from one of the refrigerators placed in the isle.

Bella noticed the woman, Esme, was peaking at Ryan with curiosity. Understanding how she must look, such a young girl with a baby, Bella turned to the side so that Esme could have a better view of Ryan from where he sat against her chest in the baby carrier.

"This is Ryan," Bella smiled brightly at the baby boy. Bella couldn't help but notice a brief flash of emotion, she assumed pity, in the woman's eyes. Before she could explain that he was her half-brother, Esme had glanced at a watch on her wrist and excused herself before rushing out of the isle. Bella shook off the interaction and finished her shopping trip.

Of course Ryan managed to fall asleep on the short ride home from the grocery store, as he usually did on car rides. Somehow Bella managed to successfully transfer the infant from his car seat to his crib after bringing in all of the groceries from her car. Bella grabbed the book she had been reading the night before from her desk before making her way back down the stairs as quietly as possible. She did not wanting to wake the baby up, seeing as he had slept so poorly the night before.

Bella set her book down on the kitchen table so that she could put all of the groceries away in the respective places. Bella made a marinade for the steak that she picked up for dinner. After finishing the dinner preparations and placing the bowl containing the marinated steak in the refrigerator Bella leaned with her back against the counter, unsure of what to do with the rest of her day. Noticing the note left on the refrigerator for her by Charlie, she had an idea. Lifting the phone form the wall Bella dialed the number for the police station.

"Forks police department, this is Chief Swan," Charlie answered the phone very formal.

"Hey dad it's Bella. Is there a phonebook in the house? I was going to make a list of places to apply for jobs tomorrow, and I'll have to find daycare for Ryan." Bella tried to speak quietly as to not disturb the infant sleeping upstairs.

"Well aren't you being productive with your day," Charlie laughed into the phone. "There should be a phone book in one of the upper cabinets. Need anything else Bells?"

"Nope, I think that's it dad, I'll see you later." Bella began to look for the phone book in the cabinet closest to her.

"Okay Bells, I should be home in time for dinner. What are we having?" Charlie perked up at the mention of food.

"Steak and potatoes dad." Bella moved on to the next cabinet, cheering quietly when she found what she was looking for. "Found the phone book," she let her father know.

"Steak and potatoes, my favorite. Well, I'll leave you to it Bells." He hung up after Bella bid him her farewell.

Bella sat at the table and looked at both the newspaper and the phone book to try to compile a list of local places that she could attempt to apply at. She had only been able to write down two places on her list; Newton's Olympic Outfitters as well as the local pizza place, when Bella heard Ryan begin to cry upstairs. Bella went up to retrieve the baby before making him a bottle and continuing to make her list. The list did not end up being very long, and by the time Ryan was finished with his bottle Bella had already finished her list. After placing Ryan's dirty bottle in the sink Bella brought Ryan into the living room to play until it was time to get started on dinner, her book forgotten on the table.

As Charlie entered the house after work the smell of cooking meat hit his nose. He could see Ryan's face as it peaked around the kitchen door frame. Charlie gave the infant a wave and a smile as he took off his shoes and gun belt.

"Hey Bells, smells good in here," Charlie called as he walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, picking up the baby as he got to the doorway. "Hello Ryan," Charlie crooned to the baby in a higher voice, rubbing the thin hairs on the infants head.

"Hey dad, it's just about finished," Bella was setting the table as she greeted her father.

"I actually have a surprise for you. I saw it while I was up in the attic and forgot to bring it down." Charlie placed the baby back onto the floor and made his way up the stairs. Bella plated the food she had made for dinner while Charlie was upstairs, sitting in her chair with Ryan on her lap waiting until Charlie joined her to start eating. When Charlie re-entered the kitchen he was carrying a wooden high chair.

"This was your high chair when you were a baby. It'll be easier for you to eat if you have both your hands," Charlie blushed as he placed the high chair down next to the table. "It'll probably be easier to try to feed him too if you're also not trying to hold him." Charlie sat down in his chair and began to cut into his steak.

"Oh my god dad, this is awesome!" Bella jumped out of her chair, holding Ryan on her hip with one arm so that she could hug her father. Charlie nodded at his daughters excitement, a piece of steak in his mouth. Bella moved to the high chair to sit the baby down in it.

"How do you like that Ry? You have your very own chair now." Bella clapped the babies hands together, Ryan laughing at the action. Bella ate her food quickly, excited to attempt to feed the infant a different jar of food. After placing her empty plate in the sink Bella took a jar of pureed peaches from the cabinet. The entire jar was gone quicker than Bella could have imagined, Bella could hear her father laughing behind her at how eager the little one was.

After Bella had finished feeding Ryan and had cleaned him up as best she could with a damp cloth Charlie took him into the living room while she washed the dishes. After the dishes were all cleaned Bella joined her father and half-brother in the living room. Bella attempted to take the infant from her father, however he declined and insisted on continuing to hold him. They had watched three episodes of a mindless sitcom that Bella did not know the name of when Charlie muted the television. Bella noticed that the infant was starting to show signs of being tired.

"So Bells, I made some calls while I was at work, and I found someone who is willing to watch the baby while your at school if you're comfortable with it." Charlie kept his eyes on the baby, unsure how his daughter would react. Bella got off the couch to make Ryan a bottle, when she came back into the living room Charlie handed to baby over to his daughter to be fed.

"Oh really? Who?" Bella asked as she guided the bottle into the babies mouth.

"Do you remember Harry Clearwater? And his wife Sue? Well, Sue offered to watch the baby while you go to school." Charlie wrung his hands together, "She'll give you a real good deal Bells, way cheaper than any daycare you can find. I'll try to help you out as much as I can with the payments too"

"That sounds great dad. If you give me the Clearwater's phone number I'll call tomorrow and see if Ryan and I can go down and see her to talk about it," Bella told her father while nodding her head.

Charlie let out a sigh of relief; "great, yeah, I'll leave their number on the fridge in the morning. I'll write down directions to their place too." Bella nodded at her father again as he un-muted the television.

After Ryan was finished with his bottle Bella stopped into the kitchen to place the empty bottle in the sink on her way up the stairs to bathe the infant and put him to sleep in his crib. After the baby was sleeping peacefully Bella got herself ready for bed. Heading down the stairs in her pajamas Bella stood in the doorway to the living room.

She gave her father a small, awkward wave; "Night dad."

"Night Bells," Charlie reciprocated before her daughter turned around and went back up to her bedroom. Shutting the small lamp on her night stand off Bella lay in her bed and thought about all of the things she planned to do the next as she willed herself to fall asleep.

Unlike the night before Ryan slept very well, Bella wished she could say the same for herself. She practically had to drag herself out of bed when the infant woke up. Bella noticed that she had missed her father leaving for work as well when they finally made their way downstairs, both completely ready for the day. She was happy to find that Charlie had remember to write down the phone number for the Clearwater's. After feeding Ryan and herself Bella figured it would be perfectly fine to call Sue. The woman answered quickly and the two had a nice conversation, making plans for Bella and the infant to visit for lunch.

Before Bella knew it she found herself back in her bed. Her day had somehow felt very long while at the same time feeling like it flew by. She had met with Sue and confirmed that the woman would be watching Ryan while she was at school, and during her work hours when she eventually started a job. On the way home from the Clearwater's house Bella decided to stop in at Newton's Olympic Outfitters. The owner, Mrs. Newton, practically threw the job at Bella, despite the fact that Bella had the infant with her. Bella would start her job in eight weeks when preparation for spring, their busy season, started. She even managed to make it home in time to make dinner for herself and Charlie. Now she lay waiting for sleep to take her, already dreading her first day of school, which wasn't for another five days.

Bella tossed and turned for what felt like hours, sleep never coming to her. She had made a third stop that morning, on her way to meet with Sue. Bella had stopped into a small store where she had bought herself a journal. Eventually she got out of bed, frustrated with her inability to fall asleep. She fumbled in the dark to her desk in order to switch on the small lamp. Bella pulled the journal out of the diaper bag where she had stuffed it after leaving the store. Sitting at her desk, Bella ran her hands over the journal. The inability to talk to her mother was eating away at her, she thought to herself that this may be as close to talking to her mother that she could ever get now. Bella began to write a journal entry, telling her mother all that she had done that day, and every day since her passing. Bella planned to write to her mother every day from now on.


	4. Chapter 3

**Quick Authors Note: This story is going to vaguely follow the story line of Twilight (owned by Stephanie Meyer and in no way by myself) so there are going to be events from Twilight that take place in this story.**

Bella's alarm startled her awake at five-thirty in the morning on Monday, January 18th. Today would be her first day at Forks high school, as well as Ryan's first day with Sue Clearwater. To say Bella was nervous would be the biggest understatement ever spoken.

Bella was quick to shut off her alarm clock, not wanting the alarm to rouse the infant. She sat up in her bed and rubbed her face with her hands. Bella was beyond exhausted, so exhausted that she wasn't sure if she had slept at all the night before or if she had just tossed and turned thinking of all the ways the day in front of her could turn out. If she was being honest, she did not have very high hope.

The school day started at seven-thirty, which left Bella with two hours to get herself and the eight month old completely ready, out the door, and to their destinations. Unfortunately for Bella the alarm had indeed woken up Ryan; she had been hoping to be able to get ready while the infant was still asleep. Almost as if her father could sense her distress, Charlie knocked on her bedroom door.

"You can come in dad," Bella called as she got out of bed and crossed her room to Ryan's crib, which was adorned with a grey bedding covered in elephants that Bella had picked out at the store in Port Angeles. It wasn't the one that she had liked most, but it wasn't the worst design she had seen and it had been on sale.

When Bella turned around Charlie was standing in her doorway with a look that she couldn't describe on his face. "Here, why don't I take him while for a little bit before I head to work, and you can get yourself dressed," Charlie offered.

Bella looked at her father with the most grateful expression she could muster on her face. "Really? That would be great dad. Hopefully I can get the hang of this new routine soon." Bella moved to her closet to pick out an outfit while Charlie took her place in front of the crib.

Charlie lifted Ryan from the crib and sat with him in the rocking chair while Bella headed for the bathroom. When Bella caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror she understood what Charlie had been looking at, she was a complete mess.

The first thing Bella noticed while looking in the mirror was that her hair was a gigantic knotted mess, just her hair alone was an indication of how restless her night had been. Next, Bella noticed the deep, dark circles under her eyes, a second indicator of her horrible nights sleep. Bella sighed as she picked up her hair brush, trying her best to work all of the tangles from her hair. After Bella had gotten herself dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a purple long sleeved shirt, looking as decent as she could manage she left the bathroom and re-entered her bedroom. Charlie kissed the side of Bella's head as he handed Ryan over to her.

"I'm off to work, have fun at school!" Charlie calls as he exits her room, much too excited for the early hour.

"Yeah right!" Bella calls back to her father as he got ready to leave. Bella was definitely not excited for her first day as a junior at Forks high school, and she told Ryan as much as she got him ready for the day. After they were both dressed and ready Bella swung both her backpack for school and the diaper bag over her shoulder, carrying the car seat with the same arm and holding Ryan on the other hip. Bella had no idea how people managed having more than one child, there was no way she could possibly carry anything else.

As she entered the kitchen Bella looked to the clock hanging on the blue-gray wall, it was almost six o'clock in the morning which left her about an hour and a half to get Ryan to Sue's house in La Push and be back into town in time to pick up her schedule before class started.

Bella managed to quickly eat a granola bar as she poured a jar of baby food into a bowl for Ryan. This morning Ryan was having applesauce, Bella figured it was a good option as she knew the infant enjoyed the fruit and would be more than happy to have it. She was trying very hard to make today as easy for the both of them as she possibly could.

Bella found herself in her car on her way to the Clearwater's house just before six-thirty. Just over an hour to make it to school, Bella sighed as she let the thought sink in.

It took Bella just over fifteen minutes to get to the Clearwaters house. Bella stood in front of the door to their house, double checking that she had packed everything Ryan could possibly need and more. Before she could even knock the door opened, Sue stood in the doorway and gave Bella a nice warm smile.

"Come in, come in!" Sue seemed extremely excited at the prospect of being able to watch the infant. Bella walked past the woman and set the car seat containing Ryan on the floor of the living room so that she could remove the infant from the seat. She bounced the baby in her arms and smiled at him, she could vaguely hear the voices of two kids arguing at the other end of the small hallway that judded out from the living room. "The kids are getting ready for school," Sue explained as she gestured to where the noise was coming from. Bella began to explain everything she could about the baby to Sue despite the fact she had already told Sue the information. She also told the woman about everything she would be able to find in the diaper bag.

"Bella sweetie, don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine, we're going to have a wonderful day." Sue took the infant from Bella's arms as she spoke. Ryan looked as if he was about to cry for a brief moment before he realized that he recognized Sue, laying his head on the woman's shoulder instead. Seeing this interaction alone helped to settle Bella's nerves slightly. Bella and Ryan had spent time at Sue's house every day after their initial visit in hopes that it would help the infant to feel comfortable around the woman.

By the time Bella had finally convinced herself that it would be alright to leave she had just under a half an hour to make it to school. As she pulled into the parking lot of Forks high school she noticed that there were little to no parking spots left. Finally settling on an empty spot three cars down from the nicest looking car in the entire parking lot, a shiny silver volvo, Bella shut off her car and felt herself begin to hyperventilate slightly. Glancing at the clock Bella's breathing got even harsher, however seeing that she only had seven minutes until the first bell was the push she needed to get out of the car.

"You can do this. You can do this," Bella repeated to herself quietly as she pulled her backpack onto her shoulder and walked towards the building labeled as the main office. Inside the main office Bella found a soft looking woman with short red hair, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. The woman looked up as Bella entered the space.

"Hello dear, how can I help you?" The woman focused her attention solely on Bella and ignored whatever she had been previously doing on the computer.

"I'm Bella Swan, today is supposed to be my first day," Bella explained awkwardly as she walked up to the woman's desk. Bella noticed that the woman frowned slightly at the mention of her name. So the woman knew her story, Bella assumed, or at least some of it. The woman at the desk was quick to replace the frown with a smile, which Bella attempted to reciprocate as genuinely as possible.

"It's so nice to meet you dear!" The woman exclaimed at Bella, quickly following with; "I'm Ms. Cope." The woman glanced at the clock on the horrible pale yellow wall briefly before looking at Bella with worry. "You should go or you'll be late to class dear. Here, these are for you." Ms. Cope handed Bella a slim stack of papers. "This is your schedule and a map of the school. Have a great first day!" After handing handing Bella the papers, Ms. Cope stood from her desk and walked around it to stand next to Bella. Ms. Cope walked Bella to the door of the office and placed her hand on her shoulder briefly.

Looking down at her schedule Bella saw that her first class was English, her teacher was a Mr. Mason and the room was located in building three. Bella made it into the room just after the bell rang, a sheepish look on her face.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. It's my first day," Bella rushed out as she looked at the english teacher. Mr. Mason survey Bella before nodding.

"Isabella Swan?" The man asked Bella.

Bella nodded at the man before correcting him, "Just Bella."

"Okay Bella, have a seat at one of the open desks. We are currently reading Macbeth, I'll bring a book and class syllabus to your desk shortly," Mr. Mason explained to Bella before turning to write something on the whiteboard.

Bella flushed as she sat down, feeling the eyes of every other student in the classroom on her as she took her seat. She had already read Macbeth in Phoenix, so it should be no problem for her to catch up to wherever the class was in the book.

The rest of the English class passed by painlessly. Bella had been right, it had been no problem for her to catch up to the classes place in the book. Actually, upon looking at the classes syllabus Bella realized she had already read all of the books for the rest of the year. Maybe the universe felt like she deserved a break after all she had been through recently, or maybe she just really loved classical literature.

Bella looked down to her schedule again when the bell signaling the end of class rang; her next class was government with Mr. Jefferson. She lugged her backpack onto her shoulder as she headed in search of building six. Suddenly there was a hand on Bella's shoulder and she jumped at the touch.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The stranger, who she couldn't help but notice had really poor skin and greasy hair, held out his hand for Bella to shake. "I'm Eric Yorkie, and you're chief Swan's daughter."

Bella returned Eric's hand shake hesitantly, "I'm Bella," she replied.

"So Bella, what do you have next. Maybe I can walk you there." Eric attempted to put his arm around Bella's shoulder, which she shrugged out of. He looked defeated for a moment before shrugging it off.

"I have gov next, I think I'll be alright finding it on my own," Bella assured her peer. When the defeated look reappeared on his face Bella added; "I wouldn't want you to be late to your own class because you had to walk the inept new girl to class." Bella tried to add a smile at the end in attempt to lighten the mood even more, she didn't need her first day to be any harder than it already was.

A grin reappeared on Eric's face. "Okay, well I'll see you later Bella!" Eric called as he set off to his own class. Bella gave a small awkward wave as she turned to hunt down building six. She walked into the room just barely on time once again.

Bella stood in front of the teachers desk, at the head of the room. "Mr. Jefferson? I'm Bella Swan, today is my first day," Bella introduced herself to the government teacher.

"Welcome Bella," the man replied with a small smile. Much to Bella's horror the teacher insisted on her introducing herself in front of the entire class. She was sure her face was going to catch on fire with how much she was blushing. Mr. Jefferson instructed Bella to sit at an open desk near the back of the room, that was fine with Bella; all the better to hide herself from her peers. Bella had a hard time paying attention to the material being taught, all she could think about was Ryan and how he was doing on his first day away from his half-sister. She had been paying so much attention to her thoughts that she was startled when the bell rang to signal the end of class.

Trigonometry came next for Bella, making her way to building three. Bella was proud of herself, as she had finally managed to make it to a class before the bell rang. Upon entering Mr. Varner's class Bella was instructed to sit at a table alongside a mousy-brown haired girl. Bella quickly became aware that the girl was named Jessica, along with what felt like the majority of the rest of her personal information. Jessica was what you would call a social-butterfly and the constant chatter was honestly starting to hurt Bella's head. It was just Bella's luck that Jessica had discovered, by taking the schedule from her hands, that they also had spanish together the next hour.

Third period dragged on with Jessica's constant quiet chattering, she was extremely nosy and clearly had no concept of personal space. However, when the bell rang for fourth period Bella put on the best fake smile she could muster and allowed Jessica to walk her to building seven. Bella knew as soon as she laid eyes on Mrs. Goff ("It's senora Goff to you senorita Swan!") that she was not going to have a good time with the teacher. Their personalities just did not mesh well together, and Bella could already see herself butting heads with the woman. Bella agreed easily with Jessica when she suggested that Bella sit with herself and her friends at lunch, despite the fact that her ears were ringing from Jessica's constant murmuring at least she wouldn't have to sit alone on her first day. She hoped that there would be enough people at the table that they could keep Jessica occupied and off her back for a while.

Bella couldn't leave Mrs. Goff's classroom fast enough when the bell for lunch rang, Jessica practically had to run to catch up to her. Jessica and Bella bumped shoulders as they walked through the lunch line together. Bella picked items from the salad bar and added them to her tray as well as a bottle of lemonade before paying for her food and following Jessica to her usual table. There were already two people sitting at the table when the pair arrived, three more of Jessica's friends followed shortly after. Bella had been introduced to all of them, however she wasn't really paying attention enough to remember their names.

Bella spent most of her lunch hour thinking about Ryan. Wondering how his day with Sue was going, hoping the infant wasn't upset without her. Bella had already known that everyone was staring at her, she could feel all of the eyes on her. However, she was so spaced out that she was completely oblivious to the whispers being spoken about her.

Pulling apart a string cheese Bella surveyed the lunchroom, finally able to briefly push the constant worry for her half-brother from the forefront of her mind. She couldn't help but notice the table of five outrageously beautiful people, instantly the image of the woman Bella had met at the grocery store had popped into her head.

Bella elbowed Jessica lightly to get her attention; "Hey, who are they?" Bella asked as she pointed vaguely to the table. Jessica rolled her eyes as she followed the direction of Bella's pointed finger.

"Oh, them? Those are the Cullen. Don't get your hopes up, they're all taken for - or just completely uninterested." Jessica crossed her arms over her chest as the last part fell out of her mouth, she sounded bitter. Bella noticed that the Cullen's started chuckling, almost as if they could hear the conversation, which couldn't have been possible seeing as they were basically sitting as far away as the confines of the lunch room would allow. Bella assumed the conversation would end there, however Jessica kept on going.

Bella instantly made the connection between the woman at the store and the five people at the table. They were all related. Maybe Esme was an older sister or something. No matter how they were related Bella could not doubt that their entire family had amazing genes.

"So the buff one, with the brown curls; thats Emmett Cullen. The super-modelesque blonde next to him is Rosalie Hale. They're together, which I find extremely strange seeing as they grew up with each other and they live in the same house, but whatever." Another eye roll from Jessica, and did Emmett just smirk? It couldn't possibly be related. "The tall blonde guy, thats Jasper Hale, him and Rosalie are twins. Jaspers with the other girl, the little one with spiky black hair, Alice. Last but not least is Edward, Forks highs most eligible bachelor, although he wants nothing to do with anyone here." There was definitely malice in her tone, Bella wondered how many times Edward had turned her down. Just then Edward looked Bella's way forcing her to look down into her lap quickly. "Doctor and Mrs. Cullen are both super young and apparently have these huge hearts or something. All the kids are adopted, although the twins are Esme's sister's kids, no one knows the true story but the rumor is that their mom was an addict."

So Esme wasn't an older sister at all, rather a foster mother. If what Jessica had said about the doctor and his wife had been true Bella could understand why she had seemed so interested in Ryan at the grocery store. The woman must really love children if her husband and herself had adopted five of them. Bella wondered why she had never had any of her own.

By the time Jessica had finished with her rant the bell was ringing to signal the end of lunch. Bella walked alone to building two, biology with Mr. Banner. Upon entering the classroom Bella was greeted by the biology teacher.

"Ah, you must be Bella. I'm Mr. Banner, biology extraordinaire. Looks like you'll be filling the last seat, right there next to Edward." Mr. Banner handed Bella her text book and motioned for her to take her seat. Bella notice Edward stiffen as she neared the table, she thought it was strange but did not think into it too much. She did however take offence when she sat down and Edward scooted as far away from her as he possibly could, angled his face away and possibly even attempted to block his inconspicuously. Bella smelled her shirt subtly. Did she smell? She hadn't chanced showering this morning as she didn't want to risk being late on her first day but she had certainly showered the night before. Had Ryan spit up on her this morning and she hadn't noticed? No one else had said anything to her, did Edward just have really poor social etiquette?

All Bella could think about the entire class was Edward's strange behavior. She chanced glances at him from the side of her eye periodically, his position barely changed at all during the entire class. There was no way it could have had anything to do with her, she hadn't even said two words to him. Yet it still made her feel self-conscious, as if she had done something wrong. When the bell rang to signal the end of class Edward practically jumped out of his seat; he exited the room as fast as he possibly could. Bella made her own hasty getaway, heading to the gym.

Bella nearly cheered with joy when she entered the gym and Coach Clapp let her know that she would not be expected to change into her gym uniform today, gym was going to be torture for her. She was sat on the bleachers while she watched her peers play basketball when a blond-haired, baby-faced boy moved to stand in front of her position on the bleachers.

"Hey there, I'm Mike Newton," the person, Mike, greeted her with a rather chipper attitude.

Bella gave a small wave, "Bella."

"So Bella, how are you liking Forks?" Mike asked Bella, a basketball tucked under his arm. He waved off his teammates when they complained about him not bringing the ball back for them to finish their game.

"It's okay," Bella winced at the thought. "Of course I really miss my old house, but living with my dad hasn't been too bad."

"That's great!. " Mike attempted to place his hand on Bella's shoulder, however Bella shrugged it off.

"Sorry, I just don't -" Bella tried to explain herself but had no idea how. Mike slid his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts.

"No, no. Don't worry about it," Mike attempted to shrug it off. "Well I'll see you around Bella." When Bella gave a small wave Mike passed the ball he had been carrying to one of his teammates before rejoining the game.

Bella was practically bouncing in her seat and counting down the minutes, extremely excited to get back to Sue's to see how her brothers day had went. Bella hoped that the baby had coped with being away from her better than she had. She was almost afraid of being away from the infant, she couldn't bare to lose him as well.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the day Bella became even more grateful that she hadn't had to change today as it meant she was able to leave sooner, not having to spend time changing back into her normal clothes. As Bella passed the silver volvo on her way to her own car, she realized that the Cullen's were standing around it. Of course the nicest care in the entire parking lot belonged to the Cullen's. Bella noted that only four of them were present around the car. Edward was nowhere to be seen. They all glared in different degrees at her as she walked past, save for the little one, Alice, who smiled at her. Bella turned away and shook her head, trying to imagine what in the world she could have possibly done to these people.

Bella thought about the situation while she drove to La Push to get Ryan. She hadn't even interacted with any of the Cullen kids besides Edward, and Bella wasn't even sure if the incident in biology class could count as an interaction. Bella shook the thoughts out of her head as she pulled into the Clearwater's driveway, glad to finally be ignited with her baby brother. The gigantic smile that filled the baby boys face melted Bella's heart. She picked Ryan up off the living room floor where he sat with Sue playing with a set of foam blocks that Bella had packed for him. Bella hugged the infant to her chest.

"Sissy missed you today Ry," Bella whispered to the infant, doubtful that he understood any of it. Sue stood up and moved to stand by the siblings so that she could share about Ryan's day when Bella was ready. Bella looked to Sue with a smile, this was the most calm she had been all day. "How was Ryan today?" Bella asked Sue while bouncing the baby.

"He was wonderful. I had a little bit of a hard time trying to get him down for a nap, and he was quite a bit upset for a little while before that. I'm sure it's hard for him to be away from you now that you've spent so much time with him and after everything that's happened." Bella's face dropped a little bit at her words. "Bella honey, he'll get used to the new routine soon, don't worry about it." Bella nodded at the woman's words figuring she was right, she did have two children of her own after all; Bella was sure she knew what she was doing. "How was your day Bella?" The look Sue gave her let Bella know that she really cared about her day and how she was feeling.

"It was...a day," Bella couldn't think of any other way to describe how her day had been.

"Was everyone nice? No one bothered you did they?" Sue continued to question. Bella smiled, while it stung that it wasn't her own mother able to talk to her right now it was nice to be mothered.

"Most of the people were nice, no one bothered me." Bella answered, anxious for the conversation to be over. Sue could tell by the tone of voice that Bella was using that there was more to the story however Bella brushed it off. Happening to glance at the clock on the wall Bella realized that she should be heading home to make dinner for Charlie.

"We should head home, I need to make Charlie's dinner or he'll starve," Bella laughed at her own joke even though she knew that it was partially true. "Thanks so much again for watching Ryan, it means so much to me that I know he's in trusted hands."

"Bella, it's really my pleasure," Sue assured Bella. "Now, we definitely don't want Charlie to starve. I'll see you both bright and early tomorrow." Bella buckled Ryan into his car seat before Sue led them to the door.

"See you in the morning Sue," Bella called over her shoulder as she made her way to her car. When Bella arrived home she immediately started on a lasagna for dinner. While waiting for it to bake in the oven she had attempted to start on her homework; finding that it was extremely difficult to balance a baby, cooking, and homework all at once. Bella left her homework to be done later and instead danced around the kitchen with Ryan in her arms, using the CD player she had brought down from her bedroom to produce the music. She stopped suddenly and stood awkwardly in the center of the kitchen when she noticed Charlie standing in the doorway watching with a fond smile on his face. She hadn't even heard him enter the house.

"Don't let me stop you Bells, you looked like you were enjoying yourself." Charlie holds his hands up in surrender before moving to the refrigerator and getting himself something to drink. Rather than going back to dancing Bella instead placed Ryan in his high chair and began to feed him a jar of pureed peas. The oven sounded before Ryan had finished his food. He made his dissatisfaction clear to Bella by way of screeching while she paused feeding him, took the lasagna from the oven, and plated a piece each for herself and her father. Bella resumed feeding the peas to the infant before eating her own dinner.

Charlie, Bella, and Ryan had begun a nightly routine of sorts in the just over a week Bella and Ryan had been in Washington. After dinner Charlie would bring Ryan into the living room with him while he watched television, Bella would wash the dishes and then join the two in the living room to watch a few episodes as well (although starting tonight Bella would work on her homework while in the living room with Charlie and Ryan). When Ryan began to show signs of being tired Bella would feed him a bottle, bathe him, and rock him to sleep before laying the infant in his crib. Once Bella was sure Ryan was taken care of she would then be able to get herself ready for bed and write in her journal before trying to sleep.

Bella's journal entry to her mother was filled with questions that night. Mostly about the Cullens, trying very hard to figure out what she had done to the family.

When the alarm went off at five-thirty the next morning Bella groaned, she was really hoping she would get used to this new routine soon. Bella was praying that luck would be on her side today, if the fact that Ryan had slept through her alarm was any indication of how her day would go than she had to believe it was. Due to the fact that the infant had remained asleep Bella was able to get herself ready for school without the help of her father. She did feel bad for the infant when she had to wake him up to get him ready to go, having hoped that he would fall back asleep on the way to Sue's house.

Much to Bella's relief Ryan did fall asleep on the relatively short drive to La Push. Bella had carried a sleeping Ryan in his car seat into Sue's house and sat the seat on the living room floor. She had a quick chat with Sue and even got to meet Leah, Sue's daughter, who had happened to be in the kitchen, before leaving for school. Bella even managed to get to the school before the parking lot was completely full. She took the opportunity to park as far away from the Cullen's as she possibly could.

Bella moved through her morning classes easily, save for spanish which honestly wasn't too terrible either. However, she could feel a nervousness growing in the back of her mind. As Bella followed the throng of kids headed towards the cafeteria dread began to grow in her stomach. It was then that she realized the nerves she had been feeling all morning were centered around seeing the Cullens, specifically Edward. Bella really did not know how she had gotten on their bad side so quickly, she hadn't said anything to any of them.

Like yesterday Bella sat at Jessica's normal table during lunch, unlike the day before however, Mike and Eric had now joined the table. Bella spent the first half of lunch periodically glancing at the Cullen's lunch table and around the lunch room. Edward was not sitting at the lunch table with the rest of his family, Bella didn't see him in the lunchroom at all actually. She started to relax slightly when she realized that if Edward wasn't already in the lunchroom he probably wasn't coming at all.

The dread built again as Bella stood outside of her biology class room. She held her breath as she opened the door, letting it out in a sigh of relief as she noticed Edward was not in his seat at their lab table. When Edward had still not shown up by the time the bell signaling the beginning of class rang Bella's fear had completely gone away. Edward did not show up to school for the rest of the week. Bella couldn't help but be worried about the strange boy, despite the fact that he had shown obviously disdain for her.


	5. Chapter 4

Bella sat in the cafeteria with Jessica and her friends. It was the Monday of Bella's second week of school, and Bella thought that she had begun to settle in quite well. She had even managed to memorize the names of all eight of her table-mates, kept conversation with them all at lunch, and even considered some of them as friends. There was Jessica of course, Jessica Stanley, who sat to the left of her. Mike had claimed the spot to her right when he had decided to sit at the table.

On Jessica's other side sat Lauren Mallory, the only person at the table that Bella did not quite like. She was highly desired at Forks high, what with her dyed blonde hair. Unfortunately her beauty was only skin deep, and she was actually quite rude. Bella had heard the girl talking about her and Ryan behind her back more than once in the single week she had been at the school, not that Bella would say anything to the girl.

Across from Bella sat a very nice girl, Angela Weber. Bella would consider Angela the person she was closest with in Forks. The two were actually in the same biology class, and had gotten into the habit of walking together to the class after lunch.

Erik had also moved to the table right around when Mike had. Between the both of them and Tyler Crowley, who also sat at the table, gave the potential for Bella to feel uncomfortable during lunch. It felt to Bella as if the three were fighting for her attention constantly, and she did not enjoy being the center of attention.

Conner, another member of the lunch table, helped with this slightly. He had happened to be friendly with Mike, which meant that when Mike joined the table they were prone to conversation. Conner's conversations with Mike helped to take some of the attention from Bella, which was very appreciated.

The last member of the table was Ben Cheney, who sat to the side of Angela. Angela and Ben both clearly had a thing for each other, although apparently neither could see it. Bella hoped that they would realize it sooner rather than later so they could stop pining over each other.

Bella had stopped her constant surveying of the lunchroom at some point during the previous week, after she had finally accepted that Edward was not coming back. It was because of this fact that Bella had not noticed him sitting with his family for the first time in a week. She had spent the whole lunch period going over yesterday's biology lesson with Angela. Bella had already studied everything they were going over in class, due to the fact that she had been in advanced classes back in Phoenix, but Angela was having a hard time. When the bell rang to announce the end of lunch Bella and Angela had walked to biology just as they had been doing for the past few days.

A gasp of shock left Bella's mouth as she walked into Mr. Banner's class and saw Edward sitting at their shared lab table, his bronze hair tousled just as she remembered it. Bella kept her eyes down as she situated her notebook. She was definitely not expecting it when Edward began talking to her.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen." Edward offered her a half smile when she glanced over.

"Bella," Bella had replied curtly while nodding.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?" Edward questioned, his voice sounding genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine, just confused," Bella paused before she continued her thought. "So we're being friendly now?" Edwards face looked shocked for a small moment before he composed himself. Bella could still see frustration in his eyes.

"I'm sorry about that, it was a very stressful day." Edward quickly excused his behavior.

"Where have you been for the past week? I was starting to think you skipped town." Bella attempted to joke with her now conversational lab partner.

"I just had some things to take care of." Edward paused while Bella nodded, he looked as if he was trying to decide if he should say what he was thinking. "So, you have a baby?" Bella's mouth hung open in shock at the question, leaving Edward's face to form a look of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, it's just that there have been rumors going around town, not that I believe every rumor I hear. It's just that I heard them, and my mother saw you at the grocery store with him. I'm sorry if you don't want to talk about it." Edward hurried out, trying to better the situation.

"I remember seeing your mother," Bella nodded as she thought of Esme, "that was one of my first days in town. He's not my baby though, he's my half-brother." Bella explained, eyes turned down to her lap. The look on Edwards face turned to one of shock.

"I'm very sorry for assuming he was yours. I didn't know chief Swan had another child. Or even a love interest for that matter." Edward's tone of voice sounded sincerely apologetic.

"He doesn't have either." Bella's voice began to get tighter just thinking about her mother. She was just able to choke out an answer to his question; "He's my mother and step-fathers"

"If he's your mother's baby then why isn't he with your mother?" Edward's curiosity sounded innocent enough, however Bella could not force the words out. With her mouth clamped shut in attempt to keep the tears from escaping, Bella wrote the words 'they died' on a piece of notebook paper before pushing the notebook towards Edward.

Edward quickly ripped the piece of paper out of the notebook and crushed it into a ball. He looked at Bella, his face morphed into a look of pain. Opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something but didn't know what, Edward chose instead to pat Bella's forearm. Bella pulled her arm away in shock; not only at the cold temperature of his skin, even through her shirt, but also at the electricity that ran through her body. Edward pulled his hand away quickly as well. Neither spoke again for the rest of the period.

Even though they had not spoken after Bella's admission Edward was not quick to leave the room when the bell rang as she had imagined he would. Instead he stood and waited for Bella, walking with her into the hallway. Once in the hallway Edward turned to Bella.

"I'm so sorry" Edward whispered before promptly turning in the other direction and striding out of the building.

Bella tried very hard to not think of her conversation with Edward and their interaction after biology. She knew she had failed, however, when she was in bed after writing in her journal for the night and still thinking about it. Bella had even written about the entire thing in her journal. The thoughts did not stop in her waking mind either, they filled her dreams as well. That night was the first night that Bella Swan found herself dreaming of Edward Cullen.

Bella's dream of Edward quickly transitioned into her normal nightmares. The nightmares that Bella experienced that night were the worst she had had since leaving Phoenix. She wondered if it was because she had brought up her mother while talking with Edward. Not wanting to suffer the nightmares any longer Bella had given up on sleep early in the morning, long before her alarm sounded.

It was due of her inability to sleep that she had found herself at school earlier than usual. She had grown impatient waiting for her alarm to go off and had began her and Ryan's morning routines early. Bella stood leaning against her car, a Macbeth book open in her hands as she caught up on a few scenes that she did not quite remember.

Bella heard the danger before she saw it coming. A loud screeching of tires sounded, which prompted screams from her fellow students. That was when Bella saw the van belonging to Tyler Crowley, as is was headed straight for her. Bella panicked and froze, as much as she wanted to run out of the way she felt stuck to the spot. Unable to move Bella closed her eyes shut, bracing herself as best as she could for the impact.

"I'm sorry Ryan," Bella whispered, a single tear slid down her cheek.

When the impact came it was not what Bella had been expecting at all. A hard force had pushed against her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Before she could mentally process the fact that there was no way there could possibly be such little impact from being hit by a van. Her head hit the ground as she heard a crunch off to her side. Not even 10 seconds later Bella was being lifted from the ground and encompassed by something else hard, and even more cold.

"Bella? Bella are you okay?" A voice spoke to her with a panicked tone.

Bella knew who this voice belonged to, it belonged to Edward. Finally able to force her eyes open, Bella realized she was sobbing. She also realized that she was practically sitting in Edwards lap, cradled against his chest.

"Bella are you hurt at all? Does anything hurt?" Edwards voice was still panicked. Bella made to shake her head no, however the movement was halted by one of Edward's cold hands. "Don't shake your head Bella. You hit it on the ground, you could have a concussion. Please tell me if you're hurt." Edward was nearly begging.

Bella managed to halt her sobs, however a constant stream of tears still fell down her cheeks. "I'm not hurt. I just want Ryan."

It was then that the throng of students and teachers had finally pulled themselves from their daze. A team of teachers were able to push the van, which Bella noticed had a huge crater of a dent in its side, away from Bella's car while a student called emergency services. There were a number of shocked gasps as the crowd found two live students on the other side of the van instead of a casualty. Edward continued to hold Bella to his chest as he answered questions from the crowd surrounding the pair.

Before long Bella could hear sirens. It was no surprise that the first vehicle on scene was her father's cruiser. Charlie was about to lift Bella off of the ground and away from Edward when Edward stopped him.

"You shouldn't move her chief Swan, she could be hurt. Wait for the paramedics, they'll take care of her." Edwards voice seemed to reassure Charlie, who settled for kneeling next to the pair and holding one of Bella's hands.

No more than three minutes later a pair of paramedics were pushing a stretcher towards Bella. The paramedics insisted on putting Bella on the stretcher, even though she felt perfectly fine. Edward only instigated the situation, agreeing with the paramedics while also informing them that she had hit her head. Unlike Bella, Edward wasn't placed on a stretcher and was able to ride to the hospital in the passenger seat of the ambulance. Charlie followed the ambulance closely in his cruiser all the way to the hospital.

Shortly after Bella was brought into the emergency room another stretcher, containing Tyler, was brought in. Tyler looked to be in much worse condition than she was, with bloodied bandages covering his face. As Bella was surveying Tyler's injuries from her own stretcher, he noticed her from the corner of his eye.

"Bella I am so sorry. I was being stupid. I was going too fast. There was ice, I didn't see it. I hit is wrong and lost control. My brakes froze up-" Tyler was speaking so fast he was nearly slurring his words.

"It's fine Tyler, I'm fine. It isn't your fault, it could have happened to anyone," Bella cut Tyler off and attempted to reassure him.

"No Bella, it's not fine. I could have killed you. I _thought_ I had killed you. And Edward, where's Edward." Tyler attempted to look around the emergency room, however his neck was stabilized in a brace.

"I have no clue where he is, they didn't make him ride on a stretcher. For all I know he isn't even here," Bella huffed again at her displeasure for being in the emergency room.

Almost immediately after the words had left her mouth a smug looking Edward strolled into the emergency room, a strikingly blonde, handsome, young-looking doctor trailing behind him. "Actually Bella, I've come to spring you." Edward winked at her. "This is my father, Carlisle," Edward gestured to the doctor, "He's going to check you over and get you out of here as soon as possible. Chief Swan is in the waiting room filling out paperwork."

As doctor Cullen assessed Bella for a concussion Tyler aimed his hysterical apologies at Edward. Edward held his hand up to stop Tyler.

"There are no hard feelings Tyler. No blood, no foul. Unfortunately I don't think I can spring you quite as quickly as Bella." Tyler didn't seem to be concerned about leaving the emergency room as he continued to apologize to both Edward and Bella. Edward pulled a curtain divider between the two beds and turned his attention to Bella and Carlisle.

"Well Bella, I do not believe you have a concussion. You were very lucky. If you do begin to experience symptoms; such as a headache that will not go away, vomiting, dizziness or blurred vision you should come back as soon as possibly to be reexamined," Carlisle explained to the girl as he examined her pupils.

Bella looked to Edward with a smug smile of her own. "See. I told you I was fine." Bella then turned her attention to Carlisle. "You know, it would have been much worse if it hadn't been for Edward. I have no clue how he got to me-," Bella was cut off by Edward.

"What are you talking about Bella? I was standing right next to you. We were talking about Macbeth." Edwards voice became icy.

"No you-," Bella was cut off again, this time by a pointed glare from Edward. Carlisle cleared his throat and both Edward and Bella turned their attentions to the doctor.

"Yes well. I will go prepare your discharge papers, you should be be able to leave in about half in hour." Carlisle turned to Edward as he made to leave. "Why don't you come with me son." Both Edward and Carlisle left without another word, passing Charlie who was walking in as they were leaving. Dashing to her side Charlie took a seat beside Bella, his concern for his daughter was clear on his face.

Charlie led Bella to the entrance of the hospital when she was finally able to leave. Leaning against the wall to the side of the large glass doors was Edward Cullen. He stopped the pair as they made to head outside.

"I'm so sorry to bother you chief Swan, but may I have a moment with Bella?" Edward asked Charlie politely.

Charlie shrugged his shoulder before looking at his daughter. "Bells?"

Bella looked at Edward suspiciously as she thought about what to do. Nodding her head Bella agreed. "Quickly though, I need my brother." Bella wrapped her arms around her middle and allowed herself to be led down a hallway by Edward.

Once the pair were alone Bella turned on Edward, her tone accusing; "You weren't anywhere near me. You were standing by your car with your siblings."

Edwards face was a perfect mask of calm, although his eyes betrayed his frustration. "No I wasn't Bella. I was right next to you."

"No you weren't," Bella stood her ground. She was positive about that fact.

Edwards tone became cold, Bella could tell Edward was having trouble controlling his anger. "Yeah? Well, no one is going to believe you."

Bella gave Edward a confused look. "Who said I was going to tell anyone? I just want to know how you did it."

Edward sighed. "Well, I hope you like disappointment." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the hospital.

Bella made her way back to Charlie, who led her out of the hospital and towards the police cruiser. Once in the cruiser Charlie turned to his daughter.

"What was that about?" Charlie questioned as he turned on the car.

"Edward was the one who pushed me out of the way of the van. He just wanted to make sure I was okay." The statement wasn't completely a lie, just the ending. "Can you bring me to the school please? So I can get my car and go get Ryan."

"How about I bring you to Sue's and you can spend the day on the reservation at her house. I'll pick up pizza's after work and we can eat with Billy and Jake, we haven't seen them since they brought your car over. I'll have someone from the station go get your car and bring it back to the house," Charlie propositioned as he drove through the hospital parking lot.

"Dad I'm fine, you don't have to have Sue baby sit me. I can bring Ryan home," Bella attempted to protest.

"Bella you almost died!" Charlie's voice was louder than either of them had expected it to be. Bella jumped in shock. The realization finally set in to Bella's mind.

"Okay dad," Bella nodded, "I'll spend the day at Sue's." Bella did not look up from her lap at all for the rest of the ride, remaining silent. She could not stop thinking about the fact that Ryan had almost just lost her, the only person he had. Ryan almost lost her just like they had lost their mother. Bella could never do that to Ryan.

Charlie insisted on explaining the entire situation to Sue after he had escorted Bella to the door. As soon as Bella caught sight of the infant she ran for him, ignoring the calls of protest from Charlie as he attempted to persuade her to walk. Bella scooped him up into her arms and squeezed him tight to her chest, the tears began to fall slowly. She curled up on Sue's sofa, Ryan cradled to her chest, as she sobbed. Bella missed the worried look from Charlie, his concern that the accident would reset all of the progress she had made since the passing of her mother.

Charlie arrived at the Clearwater's house after his shift at work had ended. As he walked into the house he saw that Bella was still sat on the couch. However, she was not in the same spot, nor was she curled around Ryan as if someone would attempt to steal him from her arms at any moment. The infant was currently on the lap of Leah, Sue's eighteen-year-old daughter. Bella sat between Leah and Seth, Sue's fourteen-year-old son.

Bella looked up at Charlie as he walked into the door. She attempted to give him a smile, however he could see that it did not reach her eyes.

"How are you feeling Bells?" Charlie asked as he closed the door behind himself.

"I'm okay, Dad. I think I'll have some bruises, but I'm okay." Bella nods as she speaks in attempt to reassure her father.

"Well, I have the pizza's in the car and Billy and Jake are waiting for us," Charlie said as he motioned for the door.

Bella nodded, "Yeah, of course. Bye guys." Bella waved to the siblings on the couch as she got up, taking Ryan from Leah once she was on her feet. Bella went to the kitchen where Sue was cooking dinner so that she could thank the woman for letting her stay at her house for the day. She strapped the infant into his car seat and pulled the diaper bag onto her shoulder before moving to stand by her father at the door. Charlie took the car seat from Bella before they both said goodbye to the family and left.

Dinner at the Black's residence was uneventful. Until Jacob offered a piece of his pizza slice to Ryan, not knowing that the infant had not yet started eating table food, let alone pizza. Bella got a little more upset than she normally would have, than was probably normal, although in her defense she had had a long day.

Bella and Charlie had arrived home past Ryan's normal bedtime, Charlie had gotten caught up chatting with Billy. Knowing that the infant would fall asleep on the car ride home Bella had dressed him in his pajamas before she and Charlie left Billy's house. This allowed Bella to simply transfer the sleeping baby from his car seat, which Charlie carried up to her bedroom from the car, to his crib. Bella was surprised to see Charlie still standing in her doorway when she turned around from the infants crib.

"I'm really okay dad, I promise," Bella assured her father. Although, the more time that went by the less Bella felt fine. Her stomach felt bruised for sure and her head was tender and starting to hurt.

"Well, I think you should stay home from school tomorrow Bells, just to be sure. I can even bring Ryan to Sue's in the morning for you so that you can have a day completely to yourself." Charlie suggested. To his surprise, his daughter agreed.

"Yeah dad, I think that's a good idea. Thanks for offering. I'm more than ready for bed though, good night dad." Bella knew that how she felt now was going to get worse before it got better, relaxing for a day was probably a good idea.

"Night Bells. I might need some help in the morning." Charlie shrugged as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Bella found it incredibly difficult to get comfortable that night. Her entire body way aching and her head was pounding. After what help like hours Bella finally gave in, going into the bathroom and searching the medicine cabinet for some pain reliever.

After the pills had taken affect, dulling her pain, Bella found it easier to fall asleep; not that Bella ever had an easy time when it came to falling asleep. As much as Bella had hoped that the night before had been a one-off, that her worse than usual nightmare would be a one time thing, she was wrong. If anything, Bella's nightmare that night had been even worse than the night before. Not only was Bella constantly replaying the memory of her mother and step-father's deaths, however now she had her own near-death experience to add to the mix. Without Bella, Ryan would have nothing, and that hurt Bella more than anything.

Bella got up when her father did in the morning. She got Ryan all ready for his day; changed, fed, strapped into his car seat, and his diaper bag packed, for Charlie. Once Bella had witnessed the cruiser pull away from the curb she shut and locked the front door before climbing back up the stairs and into her bed.

The day was rough for Bella, mentally and physically. Like that first week in Phoenix Bella laid in her bed, a ball of tears wrapped in her blankets. As much as Bella would love to be able to be with her mother again, she could never do that to her half-brother. She could never make Ryan suffer for her own selfish reasons.

It was late in the afternoon when Bella finally managed to drag herself out of her bed, for the benefit of her father. As she entered the bathroom she shut the door behind her, before starting the shower to let the water heat up. Bella stood in front of the bathroom mirror as she undressed, examining her body.

Her hair was a mess, as it usual was when she got out of bed. Tears continued to stream down her pink, splotchy face of their own accord. A large bruise covered a major portion of her stomach. Bella hissed in pain as she poked the bruise with her index finger before stepping into the shower. As Bella was washing her hair she found that the back of her head was also tender, from where she hit it on the ground. She was just happy that she did not have her headache anymore. Bella had not wanted to have any reason to go back to the emergency room, the aches and pains she could deal with on her own.

After she had finished her shower and threw on a pair of comfy sweats Bella decided it was time to start on dinner. She thought it would be fitting to make a soup; as she wasn't feeling well, and it had just snowed earlier in the week. As Bella was chopping up the vegetables for the chicken soup, the phone rang. Bella lifted the phone from the wall, tucking it between her ear and shoulder before continuing her chopping.

"Hello, Swan residence," Bella greeted the telephone.

"Bella? This is Jess Stanley," The voice coming from the receiver replied.

"Hey Jess, what's up?" Bella had given Jessica her phone number so that she could help her friend on homework the past weekend.

"How are you? Yesterday was so crazy." Jessica gushed.

"I'm fine Jess, thanks for asking." Bella did not really feel like talking about the incident from the day before.

"That's great!" Jessica enthused before continuing, "anyway, I was thinking of asking Mike to the spring dance. It's in two weeks" Bella was glad that Jess had changed the subject quickly, not wanting to dwell on her newest subject of discomfort.

"That sounds awesome Jess, I hope you have a great time," Bella attempted to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"Are you sure you don't mind? You weren't going to ask Mike to the dance were you?" Jessica's voice portrayed how nervous she was.

Bella nearly gasped at the question. "Oh no, I'm not even going to the dance. I doubt I could go even if I wanted to," Bella added as an extra reassurance as she poured the vegetables she had chopped into the pan of broth on the stove.

"Oh yeah, right, of course...because of your kid right?" Jess had paused before asking her question, unsure if she should bring up the topic or not. Bella sighed.

"Jess, Ryan isn't my baby," Bella began, however she was cut off by Jessica.

"Bella it's fine if you have a kid," Jess reassured.

"He really isn't mine though Jess. He's my half-brother. We lost our mom so now I'm taking care of him," Bella explained in a rough voice. She could not believe she was telling Jessica this information over the phone, or even in general.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry Bella. I can't believe everyone is saying you have a baby," Jessica exclaimed. Bella had known that some kids at school were talking about her, however she had refused to believe the whole school knew. Until now that was.

Bella shrugged to herself, what did it matter what everyone said. As long as she was taking care of Ryan properly it did not matter what anyone said.

Jessica was still talking as Bella finished putting together the ingredients for the soup. Bella stood around in the kitchen awkwardly while she listened to Jess babble on about teen parents before finally bringing the conversation back to herself and the spring dance.

"So you're sure you don't mind if I bring Mike to the dance?" Jessica asked again to reassure herself.

"No, of course not Jess. You go and have fun." Just then Bella heard the door open and Charlie call out to her. "Sorry Jess, my dads home, gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." Bella rushed out quickly before hanging up the phone.

Bella thought about it for a second before stepping into the hallway. "I can go to school tomorrow, right dad?" Bella questioned Charlie as she moved to take Ryan's car seat from her father so that she could remove the infant from the seat.

"As long as you're feeling okay then I don't see why you can't go to school tomorrow," Charlie agreed.

"So how was Ryan's day?" Bella asked her father as she held the infant?

"Sue said he was fine Bells. I'm sure she'll give you a better description tomorrow," Charlie assured his daughter.

"You're right." Bella nodded in agreement with her father. After dinner Bella followed her and Ryan's usual night time routines. As she laid in her bed after writing in her journal Bella hoped that her soreness would begin to subside soon, rather than getting worse as it had been. There were only two more days until the weekend, and Bella was dreading them.


	6. Apology

Hey guys, this isn't an update. My posting schedule is Fridays and Sundays, however it had been a weird week so I did not have my chapter ready for yesterday. I'm hoping I'll have it done for tonight and that I will indeed have my Sunday chapter up on time tomorrow. I'm so sorry the chapter is late!


	7. Chapter 5

Bella sat in her bed, wrapped in her comforter; her journal in her lap and the small lamp beside her bed switched on. She glanced toward Ryan, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib as she thought about how to possibly explain her day. Her thoughts were filled with the events that had transpired throughout the day as she attempt to wrap her brain around them.

 _Bella awoke to the sound of her alarm as usual. Today would be her first day back to school after the accident and Bella was not looking forward to it; she was sure that her peers would be curious about what happened. Bella was not excited at the prospect of being questioned about the accident, especially when she still had so many unanswered questions herself. As grateful as Bella had been that she was still alive, she had no idea how it was possible. The unsurety of the situation was not helping with Bella's anxiety over her almost-demise._

 _Getting herself and Ryan ready for the day proved to be more difficult than Bella had anticipated. Somehow it had been much more of a challenge for Bella to get ready for the day than it had been the day before. Her entire body was sore and aching, the prominent bruise on her abdomen causing the majority of her pain. Bella had never been aware of how often Ryan's little feet jabbed into her stomach in excitement while she held him until she had had the accident. It wasn't the infants fault that it hurt her, he was purely expressing his happiness._

 _By the time Bella had finally gotten herself and the baby out the door they were running behind schedule. She sighed as she accepted the fact that she should have agreed to let Charlie help her get ready before he left for work. Instead she had stubbornly insisted that she could do it on her own, resulting in her and Ryan leaving the house late. The pair were running so late that by the time they arrived at the Clearwater's house Bella was not able to have her normal chat with Sue. Bella apologized profusely as she rushed out of the house after dropping off the infant, Sue giving her an understanding smile in response._

 _As Bella sat in her car on her ride back to Forks she could not help but feel her mind wander, her half-brother dominated her thoughts. It took every ounce of Bella's self control to keep from turning around and driving back to retrieve the infant. Bella wasn't sure if it was because of the accident, but she found herself terrified to leave the infant. This confused Bella as she hadn't been worried at all when Charlie brought Ryan to spend the day with Sue the day before. It wasn't until Bella had pulled into one of the last parking spots available in the parking lot of the high school did she realize where her insecurities were stemming from. She had not been worried about leaving Ryan the day before as she had been fully able to get into contact with him if and when she had needed to. She could have called Sue to check up on the infant if she felt the need, she could have even driven to her house to gather the infant if the urge had been strong enough. However, stuck at Forks high for the day Bella was not able to do either._

 _Bella glanced around the parking lot as she exited her car. She was so behind schedule that it was completely empty, leaving Bella having to practically run in order to make it to her first class in time. She swung the door open just as the bell signalling the start of class rang. Bella received a pointed glare from Mr. Mason as she made her way to her seat, clutching the strap to her backpack in her hands. Bella had been correct about her peers being curious, glances and whispers reaching her as she attempted to ignore them and focus on the english lesson._

 _Bella found Mike beside the door outside of her english class. He gave her a half smile as she exited the classroom. She returned the small smile given to her by Mike and entertained his effort to walk her to class, seeing as they were both in the same room next period._

" _So, how are you feeling?" Mike asked as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket._

" _I'm feeling okay. Thanks for asking Mike." Bella nodded along with her words._

" _I was worried about you, especially when you didn't come in yesterday. Some of us were worried you had gotten really hurt." Bella could see that Mike's eyes were genuinely full of concern._

" _My dad just wanted me to take a day to relax. I would have come in yesterday if it had been my choice," Bella attempted to joke._

" _Well, that's good to hear," Mike nodded once before he continued. "So, Jessica asked me to the dance."_

 _Bella feigned shock at Mikes words. "Oh really? That's great Mike!" Bella put as much enthusiasm into her voice as she could muster._

" _I guess." Mike rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I told her I had to think about it."_

" _Why would you do that?" Bella was genuinely shocked at Mike's words._

" _Honestly," Mike paused, "I was kind of hoping that you were going to ask me." Mike gave Bella a hopeful glance as they stood outside of building six._

 _A frown found its way onto Bella's face. "Sorry Mike. I'm not going to the dance, I think you should take Jessica up on her offer." Bella turned from Mike and made her way to her seat which was thankfully across the classroom from his. The bell rang as Bella was taking her seat, Mike still standing in the doorway with his mouth open. Much like the class before, Bella tried her best to ignore the curiosity from her peers and focus on her classwork._

 _Bella noticed that Jessica was more reserved than normal while they sat in trigonometry class. She figured it was because of Mike's indefinite answer to her invitation to the dance. Bella's assumption was confirmed as she and Jessica walked together to spanish class._

" _So you know how I called you last night," Jessica started as soon as the pair exited Mr. Varner's class._

" _I remember," Bella nodded._

" _So this morning I asked Mike if he wanted to go to the dance with me, and he said no. Can you believe that?" Jessica returned a wave to a passing group of peers as she spoke._

" _He did?" Bella questioned, pretending as though she hadn't already heard the other side of the interaction._

" _Well, I guess not technically. He said he had to 'think about it'," Jessica made air quotes with her fingers as she spoke. "So that's pretty much a no."_

" _I'm sorry Jess," Bella patted her shoulder lightly before returning her arm back to her side. Jessica was still not completely back to herself as she and Bella took their seats in spanish, however she was not as quiet as she had been in the previous class. After spanish Bella and Jessica walked to the lunch room together._

 _Tyler was waiting for Bella as she made her way to the lunch table with her tray of food. He pulled out her chair for her as she drew closer, and even pushed it back in for her after she sat. Bella noticed that Tyler's face looked much better than it had the last time she had seen it. In the hospital his face had looked so gruesome, however now that it had been cleaned and the blood had been removed, Bella saw that it had all come from small and superficial cuts. It was true that head wounds always seemed worse than they actually were._

" _Um, thanks Tyler," Bella gave Tyler a tight smile. He nodded to her as he moved around the table to sit next to Angela, across from Bella._

" _Bella how can I ever make it up to you?" Tyler pleaded. Bella sighed._

" _Tyler. I told, it's fine. Stop worrying about it." Bella picked at her lunch, eyes cast down to her tray as she spoke._

" _I'm going to find some way to fix it somehow," Tyler assured her._

" _I wish you wouldn't," Bella sighed again. Tyler shook his head at her before he turned away from Bella and began a conversation with Ben._

 _Bella's stomach was in knots as she stood outside the biology room. She sucked in a deep breath of air before opening the door and stepping inside. She was nervous to see how Edward would act towards her, seeing as their last interaction had not been very good. Just as she had reached her and Edward's shared lab table she stumbled on her feet. Edwards hand shot out to stabilize her._

" _Could you try not to endanger yourself?" Edward hissed out. He quickly removed his hand from Bella's arm and turned his attention to the whiteboard at the front of the room. Bella sighed as she sat down in her seat._

" _Sorry, I can't help that I have no coordination." Edward did not acknowledge her apology, choosing to ignore her for the entirety of the class. He sat extremely still, if Bella had not known any better she would have said he wasn't even breathing. That was not realistic though, it was in no way medically possible for a person to hold their breath for an entire hour._

 _When the Bell rang to signal the end of Biology, Bella figured that Edward would storm out of the room as he had on her first day of school. He did not, instead he paused for a brief moment after he stood and Bella began to wonder if he would wait for her to leave as he had on Monday. He did not do that either. He glanced at Bella briefly as if he had something that he wanted to say to her before turning and leaving the classroom._

 _Bella was sat on the sidelines once again during gym class that day. Due to the doctors note given to her at the hospital by Dr. Cullen she would not be participating in gym until the next week. As Bella sat on the bleachers, watching her peers as they played badminton she almost wished she could join them, a thought Bella would have never guessed she would have. At least if Bella was out there on the court her mind would be preoccupied with keeping herself from falling over. She would have more to think about than just counting down the minutes until she could leave and pick up Ryan._

 _When the last bell of the day rang Bella was so thankful that she had not had to participate in the class as it meant she could leave the school faster. Bella had already reversed out of her parking spot and was headed to the exit of the lot before most of her peers had even exited their classrooms. She slammed on her breaks as the shiny silver volvo she had grown to be wary of pulled out in front of her. Bella sighed as she waited for Edward, the owner of the volvo, to lead the way out of the parking lot, but he didn't. She noticed, as his break lights went out, that he had put his car into park in the middle of the parking lot. Bella had absolutely no idea what in the world he was doing, these actions were not normal._

 _It was not until Bella honked her horn at the car in front of her did she take the time to look into the car. The first thing she noticed when she looked into the car was that Edward was staring at her through his rearview mirror, an amused look on his face. Bella glared back at him before taking in the fact that the rest of his siblings were not yet in his car. This confused Bella; why would he pull out of his parking spot when he still had to wait for his siblings. Bella sighed as she glanced into her own rearview mirror and noticed a small line of cars forming behind her._

 _Putting her own car into park, Bella removed her seat belt as she prepared to get out of her car and confront Edward. As her hand reached for the handle to her car door there was a knock on her window. The sound made her jump, startling Bella out of her thoughts. Bella turned towards the window, coming face to face with Tyler. He motioned for Bella to roll down the window which she did grudgingly._

" _Hey Tyler, sorry about this. Cullen decided to park in the middle of the road for some reason." Bella motioned to the car in front of her with her right hand._

" _Don't worry about it Bella," Tyler laughed. "Actually. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to the dance with me." Tyler gave Bella a hopeful look._

" _I thought it was a girls choice dance," Bella attempted to brush his question off._

" _Well it is, but, I was really hoping you would go with me." Tyler sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. The look of hope was slowly starting to leave his face._

" _Sorry Tyler, I'm not even going to the dance at all." Bella shrugged her shoulders slightly._

 _Tyler's face fell for a moment before he was able to reestablish his large grin. "Well I still have prom I guess." Tyler started laughing as he turned from her car. "Have a good night Bella!" he called over his shoulder. Bella sighed._

 _Bella had nearly forgotten about the car parked in front of her after the interaction with Tyler. Once she had gotten her window rolled back up and turned her face back to the windshield she noticed that the volvo was gone. She shook her head as she shifted her car back into drive and left the school parking lot. Bella imagined herself confronting Edward during class the next day, thought of telling him that he had made her late to pick up Ryan to make him feel bad even though she knew Sue didn't mind if she was a few minutes late. She shook the thoughts from her head, knowing that she would never actually do it._

 _As Bella pulled into the driveway at the Clearwater's house she was so excited. At the same time Bella was also frustrated. She had been doing so well with being away from Ryan during the day, however the accident had apparently set her back quite a bit. She hoped that she would get over her new insecurities soon. Bella really trusted that Ryan was in good hands with Sue. If anything, the problem was that Bella did not believe that she was in goods hands on her own. She would be beside herself if anything were to happen to her and in return to the infant. As Bella entered Sue's house she was greeted by a very happy Ryan._

" _Bella, he is so close to crawling it isn't even funny," Sue spoke from her spot on the floor next to the infant._

" _Oh really? You think so?" Bella nealt down next to the pair, caressing Ryan's head lovingly._

" _Definitely." Sue nodded before adding, "how was your first day back to school?"_

" _It was okay. I missed this little guy so much," Bella's tone became very loving as she lifted the infant onto her lap. Sue patted Bella's shoulder as she watched the siblings with a fond smile. Bella and Sue sat and chatted as Bella had wanted to that morning, before Bella took Ryan home to Charlie's house._

 _Bella groaned as she sat the infant seat containing Ryan down onto the floor in the living room. The baby was getting heavy and Bella was not sure how much longer she would be able to carry him while he was in his carseat. She made a mental note that she'd need to go to Port Angeles soon to buy him a bigger car seat, the kind that would stay strapped into the car permanently. Bella sat her backpack and the diaper bag on floor along with the mail she had grabbed from the mailbox on her way into the house as she unbuckled Ryan from his seat. She sat on the floor with him, waving a colorful rattle in front of his face, while she sorted out the mail. The majority of the mail was for Charlie of course, however there was one envelope addressed to Bella as well as Charlie. Bella glanced at the manila envelope curiously. She's wait for Charlie to get home before opening the envelope, sure that it was something pertaining to her mother._

 _Bella lifted the infant into her arms along with the mail before making her way into the kitchen. She set Ryan onto the floor and the mail onto the table before she started on dinner. Although Bella knew that Charlie was more fond of red meat she had decided to make chicken for her and her father's meal. She knew that it wasn't his favorite but they couldn't eat steak all of the time, and she had yet to look for any recipes for the fish that filled the freezer. Bella sat Ryan into his high chair and fed him his veggie puree while the chicken baked in the oven._

 _As Bella fed her half-brother it reminded her of just how much she did not know about raising a child. At what point should she start feeding him regular food instead of puree's, she had no clue. His bottom front two teeth had already grown in, did that matter? Bella made a second mental note to call the hospital soon to ask for a recommendation for a pediatrician for Ryan._

 _The telephone ringing woke Bella from her thoughts. She sat the bowl of baby food down on the tray of Ryan's high chair before crossing the kitchen to the phone that was hanging on the wall. Bella paused for a moment after placing the phone to her ear, taking a breath before answering._

" _Hello, Swan Residence." Bella wondered who could be calling._

" _Hey Bella, it's Jess." Jessica sounded much happier than when she and Bella had talked at school._

" _Oh hey Jess, what's up?" Bella heard Ryan whine impatiently as he waited for her to continue feeding him._

" _I just wanted to let you know that Mike gave me an answer. He said yes! We're going to the dance together," Jessica enthused. Bella heard a small crash behind her and a belly laugh from Ryan. Upon turning around Bella found Ryan completely covered in baby food, his bowl on the floor along with the rest of his puree splattered around it._

" _So sorry to cut you off Jess, but I really have to let you go. Talk to you tomorrow." Bella all but slammed the telephone onto the receiver before turning to face the infant. She shook her head at the baby but couldn't keep the small smile from finding its way to her lips. Bella was pulling the food covered clothes off of Ryan as Charlie walked into the kitchen._

" _What in the world happened here?" Charlie asked with a laugh. Bella blushed._

" _The phone rang and he got a hold of his bowl of food while I was answering it," Bella explained. Charlie laughed again as Bella wiped Ryan's face and highchair down with a wet cloth. Bella placed Ryan back in the highchair, dressed in only a diaper and socks, so that her and her father could eat their dinner. Charlie ate the chicken, although a little bit grudgingly, and even remarked on it well. After dinner Charlie took Ryan into the living room as he normally did while Bella washed the dishes, she was nearly done when Charlie called for her._

" _Watch out Bells, you have a little visitor coming." Charlie's voice was fond._

" _What do you mean dad?" Bella dried her hands before peeking out into the hallway. Charlie stood in the doorway to the living room, and there was Ryan, crawling down the hallway. Bella scooped the infant into her arms and kissed his chubby cheeks. Sue had been right, of course she had; here was her tiny baby brother, crawling._

Bella looked down to her journal once again. She hadn't even realized she had been writing until now. Remembering the manila envelope that she had gotten in the mail that day Bella got out of bed and headed down the stairs. She stopped in the kitchen to grab the envelope before making her way into the living room.

"Hey dad, I got this in the mail today." Bella handed Charlie the envelope. "I think it's something for mom," she continued. Charlie opened the envelope, reading over it's contents before nodding.

"They divided the money that was left for you and Ry and put it into two trust funds. You'll each have access to them once you turn eighteen." Bella nodded as her father spoke. "Did you want to read this?" Charlie questioned.

"Not right now, but definitely later. Thanks dad." Bella hugged her father before making her way back up to her bedroom. She left the paperwork on her desk, before moving to stand in front of Ryan's crib. Bella placed her hand on the infants back lightly, sighing as she watched him sleep peacefully.

Bella turned from the infant and climbed back into her bed. She switched off her lamp before she snuggled down into her comforter. The tears that flowed from her eyes could not be stopped, still falling when she eventually fell asleep.

The alarm clock on Bella's night stand woke her up once again the next morning. She felt the puffiness in her eyes that she knew all too well. Bella's crying must have continued into her sleep. She sighed as she stretched her arms above her head, wincing at the stretch of her sore muscles.

Unlike the day before Bella had managed to make it to both the Clearwater's and to school on time. Before she knew it Bella found herself sitting at her lunch table, talking to Angela. She was interrupted mid-sentence by an elbow jab from Jessica. Bella glanced toward her friend, as she had obviously wanted her attention.

"I don't mean to alarm you," Jessica began, "but Edward Cullen has been staring at you since lunch started." She giggled a little bit despite the words she had said.

Bella glanced toward the lunch table where the Cullen's sat daily. She saw all of the Cullen children besides the one that she was looking for.

"He's not there," Jess corrected and pointed in the opposite direction. Edward sat alone at a table off to the side of the lunch room. He locked eyes with Bella as she glanced in his direction and motioned for her to join him. Bella glanced down to her lunch tray.

"What does he want?" Jessica questioned Bella intensely.

"I have no clue." Bella shrugged.

"Well you should go see," Jess encouraged. Bella looked at her as if she had sprouted three extra heads. "Seriously, he looks like he really needs to talk to you."

Bella nodded before picking up her backpack and lunch tray. She made her way to where Edward sat alone. She sat her lunch tray onto the table but remained standing, across the table from where Edward sat. She crossed her arms over her chest, her backpack hanging from one shoulder. Edward raised an eyebrow to Bella, a crooked smile on his face.

"Aren't you going to sit?" Edward's tone was amused as he questioned Bella.

"Do you want me to sit?" Bella was confused.

Edward nodded. "Well yes, I did invite you over here."

Bella sat down and remained quiet as she attempted to gather her thoughts. Edward raised both eyebrows at her in question. "But why?" Bella finally managed to ask.

"Bella, we shouldn't be friends," Edward explained. Bella sighed in response.

"Then why are we doing this?" Bella questioned.

"We shouldn't me friends," Edward repeated. "But maybe I'm tired of doing what I'm supposed to. I _want_ to be your friend Bella," Edward amended.

"You know, your mood swings give me whiplash." Bella snorted in amusement.

"I apologize for that, but now that we're friends they shouldn't be so bad." Edwards tone had become amused.

"Now that we're friends can you tell me how you saved me the other day?" Bella's face filled with hope as she questioned Edward.

"No, probably not." Edward shook his head. The pair sat in silence, Bella picking at a granola bar on her lunch tray. Eventually she looked up Edward, a scowl on her face.

The amused look remained on Edward's. "Would you like to skip class with me?"

"Ah, no thanks, I think I'm good." Bella had already missed more than enough school for the week.

"Well then you should probably get to class Bella. I'll see you next week, would you like to sit with me again?" Edward raised from his seat, picking up his lunch tray as well as Bella's.

Bella was shocked to see that the lunch room was nearly empty. She nodded her head in response to Edward's question and thanked him for taking her tray. With a wave to Edward she left the cafeteria in route to biology. Bella made it to class just as the bell rang, a bad habit she was falling into in most of her classes, and walked to her seat with a blush. Luckily for Bella Mr. Banner had not yet made it to class from his own lunch break.

When Mr. Banner did enter the classroom his arms were full of small cardboard boxes. The teacher set up the boxes on the center desk in the front row of student desks. Bella could not tell what was in the boxes until Mr. Banner started to take the objects. She began to feel queasy just at the thought of the use of the objects alone. At the front of the room Mr. Banner clapped his hands together.

"Today we're going to be blood typing!" The teacher began to pass the boxes around the room. "Everybody take one of everything, everyone should have a typing card, an alcohol wipe packet, a lancet, and a four-pronged applicator. I'll give further instructions once everyone has all their materials." Mr. Banner turned his back to the class as he took a stack of papers form his desk.

"I thought that today would be a great day to do this activity because there is going to be a blood drive in Port Angeles this weekend." The teacher began to pass out the stack of papers he held amongst the class. "These are permission slips for the blood drive if anyone is interested. Once the materials were successfully distributed throughout the class Mr. Banner called for a volunteer. Mike Newton, of all people, stepped up to the front of the class.

"So here's what we're going to do." Mr. Banner gestured for Mike's hand, which the student gave willingly. "Firstly, your going to want to clean one of your fingers with the alcohol wipe." As he talked the teacher wiped Mike's right index finger with an alcohol wipe. "Then take your lancet," Mr. Banner raised the lancet so that the rest of the students could be sure of what he was talking about, "and use it to prick your finger."

"Ow," Mike whined in protest as his finger was jabbed by the lancet. Bella could see her vision start to swim. She closed her eyes in attempt to calm the nausea and keep herself from passing out.

Mr. Banner held up the blood typing card. "If you'll notice the typing cards are divided into four sections. After I'm finished with Mike I'll come around and put water droplets in each box of your card, please wait for the water to begin." Mr. Banner put four water droplets onto Mike's card before he continued. "Coat each of the four prongs of your applicator in the blood from your finger." The teacher demonstrated his words as he spoke. "Place a droplet of blood onto each of the water droplets on your card. It will become clear which blood type you have." Mike was no longer as excited as he had been when he first volunteered at the beginning of class.

Bella folded her arms onto the lab table in front of her before laying her head down onto them. Her eyes were still shut tightly, and she attempted to breathe only through her mouth. She could feel sweat dewing on her forehead. A light touch to her shoulder made Bella jump.

"Bella, are you okay?" The concerned voice came from Mr. Banner.

"I already know my blood type Mr. Banner. I think I need some air," Bella was barely able to get the words out.

"Mike, since you've already done your testing why don't you bring Bella to the nurse." Bella felt herself be assisted into a standing position, her arm was slung over what she was assuming were Mike's shoulders. She could feel the straps to a backpack on the shoulders under her arm, she hoped it was her own as she really did not want to come back to this classroom again today. The pair slowly shuffled out of the classroom and eventually out of the building. As soon as the cool air hit her face Bella could feel the herself becoming slightly less dizzy, however her stomach was still doing flips. The motion of walking down the sidewalk with Mike was not helping.

"Mike we need to stop, just let me sit for a moment." Bella attempted to pull her arm from the boys shoulder. Mike assisted Bella down to the sidewalk with uncertainty. Bella sat slumped over on the sidewalk, her head between her knees. Before long she found herself laying on her side with her cheek pressed against the ground, not exactly sure how she had gotten there.

"Bella, are you sure your okay?" Mike's voice sounded almost scared.

"I'm fine, just trying not to puke," Bella explained to Mike. She was already feeling much better than she had in the classroom, although she still hadn't opened her eyes.

Out of nowhere a third voice joined their conversation. "Bella, are you alright?" Out of anyone in the entire school, of course Edward Cullen would find her laying on the ground on the verge of vomiting.

"I'm fine. Go away," Bella complained.

"Not to hurt your feelings, but you look like you're dead Bella." There was a hint of a laugh in Edwards tone. Before Bella knew what was happening she was being lifted up into a pair of strong arms. Bella's eyes flew open.

"What in the world are you doing? Put me down!" Bella flailed in Edwards arms. Edward's face remained calm despite Bella freaking out in his arms. Bella did not know how but it seemed effortless for Edward to be carrying her.

"I'm bringing you to the nurse, you seriously don't look good." Edward still sounded amused by the situation. It was then that Mike ran up beside them, he had obviously also been startled when Edward lifted Bella into his arms.

"What are you doing with her?" Mike protested.

"I'm taking her to the nurse," Edward replied.

"I'm supposed to be taking her to the nurse," Mike countered.

"So that's what you call what you were doing? I'm pretty sure you were just letting her lay on the ground." Edwards voice finally lost its amused tone, sounding slightly frustrated now. Bella had closed her eyes again, the boys arguing making her vision swirl once more.

"Can you guys shut up please? Before I puke all over you." Bella moaned quietly as Edward laughed.

"That would be unfortunate." Edwards tone was amused again. As the group neared the main office Mike stepped ahead and held the door open for Edward. Bella could hear the shocked gasp from Ms. Cope as she set eyes on the scene in front of her.

"She's okay, Ms. Cope. They were blood typing in biology and someone got a little queasy," Edward explained the situation. The receptionist led him behind her desk, opening the door to the small nurses office. Edward laid Bella on the paper-covered bed. Tension filled the room as Ms. Cope left the room to retrieve the nurse.

"I've got this Mike, why don't you go back to class," Edward reasoned.

"No really, it's fine. This was my job in the first place," Mike defended.

"I really think you should go back to class Mike," Edward pushed.

"Yeah Mike, really, I'm fine." Bella opened her eyes as she spoke to further back up her words.

Mike sighed in frustration before dropping Bella's backpack on the ground and storming out of the room. "See you in gym, Bella," Mike called over his shoulder as he left. Bella groaned.

"Are you feeling sick?" Edward worried.

"No, I have gym next period." Bella groaned again. Edward laughed.

"I'll take care of it," Edward assured Bella. Shortly after Ms. Hammond, the school nurse, entered the room with a damp cloth in her hands. She placed the damp cloth on Bella's head and had her explain what had happened during class. Edward sat quietly on a chair in the corner while Bella had explained how she gets queasy around blood. As nurse Hammond was fussing over Bella there was a commotion from the lobby of the office.

"We've got another one!" Ms. Cope called into the small nurses office. Ms. Hammond left the room to assist the student who had recently entered the office.

"Let's get you out of here so that whoever that is can lay down," Edward suggested. Bella agreed and allowed Edward to assist her off of the cot and into the lobby. The pair sat side by side on chairs in the lobby as their classmate was brought into the nurses office. Bella winced as she heard the other student, a boy named Lee, throwing up in the other room.

"I need to go before I start puking too," Bella whispered to Edward who jumped into action. He walked to the receptionists desk to speak to Ms. Cope.

"Ms. Cope, I hate to bother you, but Bella hear has gym next period and I don't think it would be wise for her to attend after her fainting spell. I was wondering if we could both be dismissed so that I could take her home. Poor Lee getting sick in there is making Bella queasy again." Edward gave the woman a breathtaking smile.

"That is very kind of you dear," Ms. Cope smiled back at Edward. "Yes, I suppose I can do that."

"Thank you so very much Ms. Cope," Edward gave the woman one last smile before turning back to Bella. He lifted her backpack onto his shoulder before offering his hand to Bella to help her out of her chair. Edward led Bella out to the parking lot with a hand lightly on the small of her back. As the pair reached Bella's car she stopped.

Edward continued on for a few steps before stopping and turning on his heel. "Why are you stopping?" Edward raised an eyebrow as he questioned her.

"This is my car." Bella motioned to her car.

"So? I said I was going to bring you home, so I'm going to bring you home. Am I going to have to carry you again?" Edward walked back to stand beside Bella once more.

"You can't bring me home, I have to get Ryan. Can I have my backpack?" Bella attempted to take her backpack from his shoulder.

"At least come listen to a CD or something with me until the end of last period. Take some time to relax before you have to drive," Edward reasoned.

"I don't know…" Bella trailed off. She crossed her arms over her chest. Edward fixed her with a pointed look.

"Come on, let's go." Edward motioned for Bella to follow him to his volvo. Bella sighed but complied.

As the pair reached his car Edward opened the passenger door for Bella. She rolled her eyes at Edward before climbing into the volvo. Edward couldn't help but laugh at Bella as he shut the door. After Edward had situated himself in the driver's seat he turned on the car temporarily so that he could turn the radio on. Bella reached over to raise the volume.

"What are you listening to?" Bella questioned as she listened to the music. "Clair de Lune is great," she amended.

"You know Debussy?" Edward seemed shocked at Bella's knowledge of classical music. Bella nodded to him.

"My mom would play classical music for Ryan all of the time. She said it was good for brain development," Bella explained. She stared straight ahead as she thought of her mother.

"What was your mother like?" Edward asked Bella innocently. Bella gave him a sad smile.

"I don't want to cry right now," Bella attempted to joke. Both teens became silent, the only sound in the car being the classical music playing.

Bella did not know how long they had been sitting silently before she decided to break the silence. "I thought you were skipping, what were still doing here?" Bella questioned her new friend.

"I was just sitting here listening to music. I guess I could have went home but I need to bring my siblings home so why not just wait here for them," Edward explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Bella agreed, nodding.

Edward got a peculiar look on his face. "What's Ryan like?" Edward asked, smiling as Bella's face lit up.

"He's the best baby, he really is. I know he isn't mine, but I was basically thrown into single-parenthood with him and I honestly don't know how I would be able to handle it if he wasn't such a good little boy." Bella gushed over her half-brother, he was one of the few things that brought her joy.

"What does he look like?" Edward continued. Bella was quiet for a moment, thoroughly thinking over her answer.

"He looks a lot like me I guess, we both look a lot like our mom. His hair is lighter though, and he has his dad's nose." Bella was thoughtful as she thought about the infant. "Oh! And he has blue eyes, like mom." It was a daily struggle for Bella not to let the blue eyes that had once belonged to her mother bother her.

"Maybe I could bring a picture on Monday so you could see?" Bella suggested.

"Sure, I think I'd like that," Edward agreed. Bella was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on the passenger window. She found Alice Cullen standing beside the door, a kind smile on her face.

"I guess school's over," Edward gathered.

"I guess so," Bella agreed. She pulled her backpack from the backseat where Edward had placed it. "I'll see you on Monday." Bella gave an awkward wave as she exited the car.

"See you," Edward replied.

"Have a good weekend Bella," Alice called as she replaced Bella in the passenger seat.

"Oh, um, thanks. You too," Bella reciprocated the kind words given to her by Edward's sister. Bella sighed as she sat in her own car, wondering how long Edward would be nice to her for. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, a large smile growing on her face at the prospect of being able to pick up her little brother after their day apart.


	8. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, quick authors note before you start the chapter. I want to apologize for the absence of chapters the past few weeks. Things have been really hectic lately, and honestly kind of crappy. I'm not going to get into all the details here, but it's just been a lot. I'm not going to promise that I'll be back on schedule form now on, but I am going to try my hardest. Thank you so much for sticking with me and my story through this, and I hope that you continue to following along with this story. Again, I'm so sorry for the delay in chapters, fingers crossed for the future.**

With Bella and Ryan seemingly adjusting well to their new home, Charlie had decided that it would be alright to resume his Saturday shifts at the station. Bella had been using Saturdays to catch on necessary tasks that she could not fit in during the week, like laundry. Somehow Bella had not realized the amount of dirty clothes Ryan was able to produce in a week until they had moved in with Charlie, despite the fact that she had been the one who did the families laundry back home in Phoenix. She hoped that she could be just as productive without Charlie home as she had been on the Saturdays when he had not been working. Bella had her doubts.

Bella was awoken by Ryan, demanding her attention from his crib. Glancing at the alarm clock on her bedside table, she noted that it was a quarter to seven. Sighing, Bella reluctantly acknowledged that this was her version of sleeping in now. As Bella stretched her tired limbs her eyes remained on the infant, it was not until she had pulled herself from the warmth of her bed and over to the infant's crib that she realized Ryan's position in his crib. The baby had managed to pull himself up, standing up and clutching the bar of the crib in his chubby little hands. The sight pulled at Bella's heart. Ryan was getting so big. A small stream of tears fell from Bella's eyes as the thought that their mother would never get to see Ryan grow up crossed her mind. She hastily wiped the wetness from her face with the back of her hand before lifting the upset infant from his crib.

Ryan sat perched on Bella's hip as she carried him down the stairs. His attitude had been changed completely by being freed from the confines of his crib. He was now the happy baby that Bella knew well; kicking his legs, babbling to Bella, and blowing bubbles. Bella winced as Ryan pulled her hair, trying to pry the strands from the baby's hand as gently as possible. Once she had made it down to the kitchen Bella sat Ryan in his high chair. She turned her back on the infant and opened the cabinet that contained the jars of pureed food for the baby. Pulling down a box of oatmeal, specifically designed for babies, from the cabinet Bella bit her lip. The label on the box told her that Ryan was old enough to have the oatmeal but Bella was unsure, she didn't want to do anything that could be detrimental for the baby.

Pushing the anxiety to the back of her head Bella poured some of the oatmeal mixture into a plastic bowl. She poured formula that she had made into the oatmeal mixture as the oatmeal box had instructed her to. Turning back around to face Ryan once more, Bella placed a smile on her face. After setting the bowl of oatmeal on the tray of the high chair Bella tied a bib loosely around the infant's neck. Biting her lip, she hesitantly lifted a bite of oatmeal to Ryan's mouth.

"What do you think?" Bella asked her half-brother as he took his first bite. Ryan smiled back at her, oatmeal dripping down his chin, bottom two teeth on full display. "You like that?" Bella asked again, a large smile on her face. The speed with which the infant ate his food assured Bella that yes, he was enjoying his oatmeal.

Placing Ryan's empty bowl into the sink Bella pulled a box of cereal from a different cabinet. She stood, leaning her back against the lower cabinets, as she ate her bowl of cereal. The entire time she made faces at the infant to entertain him while she ate. As Bella was finishing up her cereal Ryan was becoming more and more fussy, not wanting to be contained in his high chair any longer. She talked to the infant calmly as she washed the dishes in hopes that he would not begin to cry. Bella noticed a pan, plate, and fork in the sink that Charlie must have used for his breakfast.

The day went by quicker than Bella imagined it would have, and easier as well. When Charlie arrived home from work his daughter was sat on the floor with her half-brother, playing with some soft toys. He could see some of her school materials spread out on the couch behind her, and could hear the washer and dryer running in the laundry room. Charlie watches Bella with a guarded look as he removed his shoes and gun belt, which he carries for work.

"Bells?" Charlie asks cautiously. "How was your day?" Bella looks up at Charlie with a small smile on her face.

"Our day was good," she nods along with her words.

"That's good," Charlie nods his head as well. "What's for dinner?" Charlie rubs his stomach as he leans on the door-frame for the living room.

"I have a roast in the crock pot, it should be ready to eat." Bella gestures to the kitchen.

"You know what, now that you mention it I can smell it. Smells great Bells." Charlie pauses to appreciate the smell for a moment more before he continues. "I'm going to run up and change out of my work clothes quick, and then we can have dinner."

While her father was in his room changing Bella prepared two plates of food, for her and her father. Fueled by the success of giving Ryan oatmeal earlier in the day, she mashes up small pieces of potato and carrot from the crock pot. Bella did not think that the mashed vegetables could that much different than the jarred purees that she fed him normally. Plus, Bella had read somewhere while she was doing research on the computer during Ryan's nap, that some people start giving their babies solid food as soon as they turned six-months-old. She was blowing on the plate of mashed vegetables to cool them as Charlie entered the kitchen.

"Trying something new?" Charlie asked as he sat down to eat his food.

Bella nodded. "I gave him baby oatmeal this morning, the box says that he's old enough."

"I'm sure it's just fine Bells, no need to worry," Charlie reassured. "So, what else did you do today?" Bella moves to sit down with her own food before answering her fathers question.

"Mostly the same things I normally do on Saturdays," Bella begins before she starts listing the events of her day off. "I did some laundry, some homework, dinner, called to find a pediatrician for Ryan. He has an appointment Monday afternoon."

"Wow, you've had quite the day." Charlie's eyes are wide. "And you thought you wouldn't get anything done without my help," he jokes.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Bella agreed.

"We were invited to go down to the reservation tomorrow. Dinner at Billy's," Charlie announced. "We can stay home if you want, but I think it would be good to go, get you out of the house." Charlie shoves another bite in his mouth in attempt to distract himself.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty cool I guess. I'm down," Bella agrees. The rest of the night is what Bella would call a typical night at Charlie's house.

Bella wakes up on her own for the first time since losing her mother. With eyes still shut tight, she figures it must still be very early in the morning as there were no sounds of crying baby or beeping alarm clock. Stretching her arms above her head, Bella blinks her eyes open for the first time. Alarmed by the amount of light filtering through the window, she glances at the clock on her bedside table. Panic sets in as Bella realizes just how late it actually is, it was after eight-o'clock in the morning. Bella had never seen Ryan sleep in this late in his entire life, pushing her to check on the infant in his crib.

An empty crib awaited Bella on the other side of her room. Blind fear filled Bella's mind as she ran from her room and down the stairs. By the grace of god she made it down in one piece, managing to not trip over her feet at all. Bella rushed into the living room where she could hear the sound of the television playing, mentally preparing herself to tell her father that her baby brother had up and disappeared. The wind was knocked out of Bella's body, as if she had been punched in the gut, as she took in the sight in front of her.

"Geez dad," Bella wheezed, panting in attempt to catch her breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Charlie asked his daughter with a laugh, Ryan sitting comfortably on his lap, the two watching cartoons on the television.

"I don't know dad, you tell me. I wake up, hours later than usual. My alarm never went off. The baby was _missing_." Bella began to become hysterical.

"Whoa Bells, calm down. I shut off your alarm and I took the baby down here so you could sleep in. I thought you could use to catch up on your sleep a little bit, you've been wearing yourself thin taking care of Ry," Charlie explains in attempt to calm his daughter. Bella lifts the baby from Charlie's lap and holds him to her chest.

"I didn't know where he was, he was just gone." Bella's voice is so low her father is almost unable to hear her.

"Where would he have gone Bella? It's not like he can climb out of the crib. It's not like someone is going to break into to the chief of police's house and steal a baby," Charlie attempts to lighten the mood with a joke. Bella's mouth drops. "Whoa, Bells, calm down." Charlie stands from the couch and slowly wraps his arms around Bella.

Tears are now falling from Bella's face. "I thought he was gone dad," she manages to choke out. Charlie encourages Bella to sit on the couch before taking a seat next to her.

"Bella," Charlie begins. There is a pause as he gathers his thoughts, unsure of how to say what is on his mind. "I think maybe you should go see a specialist, someone you can talk to." Charlie winces as he sees the look on Bella's face.

Taken aback, Bella scowls at her father. "Why would I do that?" Bella asks.

"This isn't normal behavior, Bells. You were just ready to go on a witch hunt because your baby brother wasn't in his crib," Charlie attempts to explain himself. "I know that you've been through a lot, I'm not saying you haven't. I actually think you've been through a ton, Bells, more than you can handle on your own." Tears have now escaped Charlie's eyes as well.

"There's nothing wrong with me dad," Bella began to get defensive.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you!" Charlie rushes out. "I'm just saying that maybe your thoughts and emotions are too much for you to deal with on your own. There's nothing wrong with that, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Charlie wraps his arm around Bella's shoulders. "I'm just worried about you Bells. Will you please at least try it out. For you, for me, _for Ryan_ ," he emphasizes.

Sighing, defeated, Bella still looks unsure. "How would I even pay for something like that?" Bella asks her father. "I'm already dipping into my savings to pay Sue for watching Ryan."

"Bella I would pay for anything to help you, no matter the situation," Charlie assures his daughter. Bella nods, finally giving in to her father. Charlie wrapped his arms tighter around Bella and together they sat on the couch until Ryan began to fuss.

"Did you feed him at all?" Bella asked her father.

"No, I didn't. Sorry Bells." Charlie rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"It's fine, I've got it," Bella assured her father before standing from the couch to take care of Ryan.

While Bella fed Ryan Charlie cooked breakfast for himself and his daughter. Fried eggs and bacon were on the menu, Bella had noticed that the items were about as much as her father could manage to cook. Shortly after finishing breakfast all three were dressed and seated in Charlie's police cruiser on their way to visit with Billy and Jacob.

"So you promise you'll try to find a counselor or something?" Charlie hesitated.

"If it will make you happy dad, and you really think it's necessary, than yeah, I'll try." Bella agrees, albeit begrudgingly.

"That's..good," Charlie nods along with his words. "I'm just worried about you Bells. I'd never want anything to happen to you."

Bella turns her face to the window, staring intensely at the forest that borders most roads in the area. "Thanks dad, that means a lot to me," she all but whispers.

The rest of the car ride is quiet, interrupted only by the quiet babbling of Ryan from the back seat. The soft sound of the baby eventually ended as well when the infant drifted to sleep. Upon arrival Bella exited the car, turning to open the door to the back seat to gather her half-brother.

"I'll grab him Bells, don't worry about it." Charlie opened the door to the back seat on his own side of the car.

"Be careful dad, his seat is getting really heavy. I think I need to get him a new car seat, he's getting so big," Bella's voice was flustered.

"I think I can handle it Bells, he's not that big," Charlie joked. Together father and daughter wandered into the Black's house.

Bella sat around in Billy's small living room until Ryan awoke from his nap. Billy and Charlie watched a basketball game on the small, dated television. Jacob joked around and attempted to make small-talk with Bella, occasionally poking fun at his father. Upon Ryan waking from his nap Bella bundled him in his jacket and the siblings accompanied Jacob on a walk to the beach. The beach was not far away, and even if it had been, the view was so beautiful it would have been worth it anyway. Once on the beach Bella and Jacob shuffled down the shore. Occasionally Jake would bend to pick up a flat stone in attempt to skim it over the choppy water of the ocean. Bella hefted Ryan further up on her hip, the baby feeling more and more heavy the further she and her friend walked.

"Is he heavy?" Jacob questioned, regarding the infant in Bella's arms.

Bella nodded. "A little bit, not too bad." Bella brushed it off.

"Why don't we sit down then," Jacob gestured to one of the driftwood logs strewn along the beach.

"Sure," she nodded as she followed Jake. She was glad that it had not rained at all that day, as it meant the wood was only damp as opposed to soaking wet.

As she sat on the log it dawned on Bella that her baby brother had not yet been to the beach before today. Although it was much too cold for Bella to allow him to touch the water she did not see a problem with letting the infant touch the sand. Instant regret shown on her face as Ryan filled both of his fists with sand, the tiny grains sticking to the drool that coated his chubby fists from being stuffed into his mouth. Bella immediately attempted to remove the sand from his hands, wiping them with her own. She did not think that ingesting the sand would hurt the baby, however she certainly did not want to find out and would rather play it safe than sorry. Ryan protested the frantic brushing of his hands, wanting to have free control of them, sticking his fingers back in his mouth as soon as they are free from Bella's grasp again.

"Jeez, Bella, calm down. It's just sand," Jacob laughs.

"Since when is sand part of a balanced diets?" Bella retorts.

"It's not like it's poison," the joking tone had left his voice.

"I still don't want him to eat it though," she explains, somewhat exasperated. Jacob gives her a skeptical look however he drops the subject.

"So, how are you settling in? Made any friends? Do you know any of the kids that were down here pretending they knew how to surf yesterday?" Jacob asks. Confused by his final questions, Bella searches her mind for any mention of surfing she had heard at school. It finally dawns on her, Mike and the rest of her table-mates had been planning a trip to the beach for this weekend during lunch all week. They had even invited her to join them, however she had declined.

"Actually, yeah, I do," Bella answers with a laugh. "I sit with those people at lunch."

"How come you weren't with them yesterday then?" The genuine curiosity can be clearly heard in Jacobs voice.

Bella thinks for a minute; "For one, I didn't want to ask Sue if she could watch Ryan, she watches him enough as it is." She pauses. "I'm not sure if I would have went anyway though, because its, you know, freezing outside," she laughs.

"It's not that cold you baby," Jake retorts.

She first regarded the sweatshirt that Jacob wore before gesturing to the jackets that covered both her and Ryan's bodies. "For us, it's cold. I think it's even worse because of the lack of sun" Bella explains. "We're used to actually seeing the sun. You know what the sun is right? It's not just a myth," she makes a jab at the perpetual state of rain in her new home.

Jacob's face turns sour, "It doesn't rain all the time you know. It's not raining now, is it?"

"No, I guess it isn't," Bella agrees, squinting up towards the sky.

"Anyone else cool at Fork's high?" Jake presses.

"Besides the kids you met on the beach yesterday, the only other kid I even kind of talk to is Edward Cullen. Exaggeration on the kind of," she emphasizes.

"Cullen?" He does a double-take.

"Yeah, Edward. Do you know him?" Bella asks.

Jacob sucks in a breath through his teeth and shakes his head. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Do you have a problem with Edward Cullen?" Her eyebrow raises as she questions the occupant of the seat next to her.

"It's nothing...personal?" Jacob is unsure of the words as they leave his mouth. "It's a tribe thing I guess." A small laugh sounds after his words.

"A tribe thing?" Bella is flabbergasted.

Jacob is quiet, his hand running through his long dark hair absentmindedly. "Um, yeah. I'm not really supposed to talk about it with outsiders though. You can't know the tribe secrets." He lightly pushes her shoulder to emphasize his joking tone.

Bella squeezes Ryan lightly as he sits in her lap. "We can be great secret keepers," she assures. He squints his eyes at her.

"I'm really not sure," Jacob begins.

"Oh come on, is it really that big of a secret?" Bella pushes.

"I'm not really sure," he deadpans, before finally sighing in defeat. Bella bites her lip and gives her friend her best pout. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you," Jacob exclaimes.

He rubs his hands on his jean covered thighs before jumping into his story. "So the Quileute tribe dates back centuries and centuries," Jacob begins. "We have legends. From the very beginning," he emphasized. "They have been passed down from chief to chief, so that our tribe will not lose our history. We have legends that date all the way back to the great flood."

"Like Noah's ark?" Bella asks.

"Pretty much," he agrees. "Anyway, so my great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, was the last chief that are tribe had. Now we have tribal elders; my dad, Harry Clearwater, and old Quill Ateraa."

"Ooh, a democracy," she enthuses back. Jacob shakes his head.

"No, not exactly. It's more or less like having three chiefs," Jacob laughs. "So, one of most prominent legends says that some of our people could turn into wolves. They protected the rest of the tribe."

"Wolves? Like real wolves?" Bella's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

"Yup, wolves," he nods. "My great-grandfather was one of the last of these supposed spirit warriors."

Bella shook her head for a moment. "I don't understand how this has anything to do with the Cullens," she confesses.

"Apparently our tribe, these spirit warriors, only have one enemy. The cold ones," Jacob huffs out a breath.

"Beers?" Bella laughs.

"Vampires," he deadpans.

"Are you trying to tell me that the Cullens are vampires?" she laughs.

"According to the legends," Jacob defends. "Apparently, all those years ago, my great-grandfather was out on patrol with some of the other protectors, when they came across the tell-tale scent of a vampire. They knew the smell because they had come across vampires before, and it is just not a smell that someone forgets-," Jacob is interrupted by Bella.

"Now you're trying to tell me that the Cullens that I go to school with are the same people that your great-grandfather knew? How is that even possible?" she asks, incredulous.

"Vampires, duh," Jacob is becoming exasperated. "Can I just finish my story?"

Bella nods in answer.

"Anyway. So they come across these vampires on our land, and they're about to attack when the leader raises his hands in an offer of peace. He explains that his 'family'-" Jacob makes quotation marks with his fingers when he says the word family, "- doesn't hunt humans like regular vampires. Instead they prey on animals. Together the tribe and the coven made a peace treaty, which pretty much states that as long as they don't hunt humans and they stay off our land we won't kill them." Jacob watches Bella's face as he finishes his story in order to judge her reaction.

Bella's face is blank for a moment before she bursts into laughter. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard." She is laughing so hard that she has to hold her stomach with one hand.

"It is a little far-fetched," he agrees. "That's the legend though. No one on the reservation like the Cullens very much and that's why." Bella shakes her head at the teenager.

"Ridiculous," Bella sighs as she surveys Ryan. The infants cheeks and the tip of his nose were blushed pink from the chill in the air. "We should probably head back to the house," she observed. "I don't want Ryan to catch a cold or anything."

"Your friends were literally in the ocean yesterday, and you're sitting here worried that your baby brother is going to catch a chill from sitting outside for an hour. With a coat on." Jacob assesses. "He's not going to break, you know."

"It's my job to take care of him, I don't want to let my mom down." Tears begin to fall down Bella's face as she finally admits the thought that had been hiding at the back of her mind. Jacob sat motionless next to her; silent, nervous, unsure of how to react to the situation.

"Bella," Jacobs voice is quiet, hesitant. "I don't think you could let your mom down unless you like murder him or something," Jacob attempts a joke.

The color immediately drains from her face and her mouth gapes open. Bella jumps up from her seat on the driftwood log, turning her back to Jacob and practically running down the beach in the direction they had come from. Jacob follows, catching up to her quickly with the advantage given by his longer legs.

"What happened Bella? What did I say?" Jacob is frantic, attempting to calm Bella and stop her frantic pursuit.

"The wrong thing," she spits out as she continues to power walk back to the Black's house.

"Bella please," he calls after her again. Bella stops for a moment, however she doesn't turn to face Jacob.

"I just want to go home Jake," Bella pleads.

Jacob barely manages to whisper; "I'm sorry," before Bella is storming off towards his house once again.

"I want to go home," she tells her father as soon as she is inside of the house, not even regarding Billy who is sat in his wheelchair close to where Charlie is sat on the couch. Taking in the look on Bella's face Charlie does not even object, apologizing to Billy before bringing the siblings home. Much to his surprise, Charlie is able to pry the reason for her change in attitude from her. Bella even allows her father to look through the phone book with her and write down phone numbers for counselors in the area once they get home. It's not until Bella is showered and ready for bed that night that she realizes how completely she had overreacted to Jacob's comment, and insists on calling to apologize to both him and Billy.

Edward intercepts Bella in the hallway on her way to the lunchroom the next day. He falls into step beside her easily.

"I hope you'll sit with me again today," Edward greets.

"Sure," Bella agrees, nodding absent-mindedly.

"I don't mean to offend you by saying this, but you look horrible Bella," he laughs after the words leave his mouth.

"Thanks," she jokes back lightly. The pair walk through the lunch line together, each placing food on to their respective lunch trays. Edward pays for Bella's lunch as well as his own despite her protest before leading her to the same empty table that they had sat at the Friday before.

"I brought that picture I mentioned on Friday. I don't know if you remember or even care." Bella blushes as she pulls the picture from her backpack. Unable to bare to look at it as she slid the picture across the table face down. The picture contained her whole family, excluding Charlie of course, and it was fairly recent. Renee had insisted on getting family pictures be taken at the end of fall so that she could mail them as christmas cards.

"Of course I didn't forget," Edward assures as he flips over the picture.

"That's my mom Renee, my step-dad Phil, and baby Ryan," she explained.

"Beautiful." He smiles at her before flipping the picture back over and sliding it back to Bella.

She nods as she places the picture back into her backpack. "Thanks." Bella pauses before she continues, "can I ask you a question?"

Edward gives her a pointed look before transforming his face to hold a crooked smile. "Possibly."

"How in the world did you possibly notice Mike's attempts to bring me to the nurse on Friday?" she questions.

His expression does not change in the slightest. "As you know I was listening to music in my car. I just happened to look up, and I noticed two people on the sidewalk and decided to investigate when I thought one of them had tripped and fallen," Edward explains himself.

"Oh, that makes sense I suppose," Bella allows.

"May I ask you a question now?" he retorts. "An eye for an eye."

"Shoot," she jokes.

"What did you do this weekend?" Bella was confused by his general curiosity.

"Do you really care about what I did this weekend?" she confirms.

"I do," Edward assures.

"Well, Saturday was pretty boring. I did normal stuff I guess. Dad worked, I took care of Ryan of course. I tried to do some laundry and some homework," Bella shrugs.

"So you take care of him all of the time, huh? That's a lot of responsibility." The look on Edwards face is somewhat shocked.

"You can say that again," she agrees. "I think it's what my mom would have wanted though. We don't have any other family, and even if we did I don't think she would want us seperated. I also don't think I could ever let us get separated after all that have happened." Bella rubs the tears away as they build up in her eyes.

"Please don't cry," Edward pleads. He reaches a hand out as if to comfort Bella, crossing about half of the distance between the pair before pulling it back towards his own body. "If this is too hard to talk about we can discuss something else."

Bella waves him off. "Don't worry about it, this happens all the time," she assures. "I don't think it will ever get easier but It's never going to change so I should probably get used to it."

Realization dawns on Edward's face. "Were you crying last night? Is that why you look so tired today?" he questions.

Bella nods. "Yesterday was rough. I've been easily set off by people saying anything that remotely reminds me of my mother, I know that probably sounds crazy. Ryan and I spent the day with my dad on the reservation at one of his friends houses yesterday. His friends son, my..friend I guess, Jacob said something and it started the water works," she attempts to joke.

"You aren't crazy Bella," Edward assures. "You went through something very horrible. I know how it feels, I lost my mom too."

"I'm so sorry," Bella sympathizes.

"It happened to long ago that I don't really remember her." She cannot decipher the look on Edwards face as he speaks.

"I'm not sure if that's better or worse," Bella voices.

The pair continue to talk, changing the topic to a lighter one. Before they knew it lunch is over and they are the only people still sitting in the cafeteria, much the same as had happened the last time they had sat together at lunch. Again, Edward disposes of Bella's lunch tray for her before walking with her to their biology class.


	9. Update

Hey guys, long time no talk. I owe you all an explanation and an apology. When I started writing Responsibility I had recently lost my job and became a housewife with a childhood passion for writing, that had fallen into a depressive episode and was trying to get back into old hobbies to try to make myself feel better. When I got a new job I found myself having less time to write and honestly just neglecting it, everytime I would plan to spend the day writing I would get called in to work to cover a shift and would have to push it back again. I also just had a baby about a month ago. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find the time to continue writing this story, although I don't want to make any promises as obviously my job and family come first. I'm sorry that it has been so long since the last update, and I'm hoping that there are still some of you out there reading and waiting for the next chapter.


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